Dayton
by PrettyLittleAgent
Summary: Will and Quinn still were not entirely sure how this whole thing started, and they had absolutely no idea how it would end... the non-linear tale of one night in one city and the consequences that never seem to end.
1. A Consequence of the Consequence: A Lie

_e·quiv·o·cate_/iˈkwivəˌkāt/

**_Verb: Use ambiguous language so as to conceal the truth or avoid committing oneself.  
><em>**

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><p>"William" The voice of Figgins sounded out from the doorway, drawing Will and Quinn away from their hushed discussion about what to do once the baby was born.<p>

"Principal Figgins, what can I, ummm, do for you?" Will asked, shuffling a bit nervously as Quinn dried her eyes with her cardigan sleeve, the conversation having set off her already sensitive hormones.

"It's been brought to my attention that you and Ms. Fabray having been spending quite a lot of time together, quite a bit more time then would seem appropriate." Will's eyes widened with shock and dread, any thoughts of this story ending well flying out the window for him. "You've been allegedly seen together after school, in your car, at the store, even entering your apartment. Considering the source-" The name Sue was on everyone's lip "I would not put much faith into this, but in light of Ms. Fabay's condition, I feel I must ask what is going on."

A vision of prison loomed in Will's mind and at any other time it most likely would have overwhelmed him had he not heard the renewed sniffling of Quinn. It wasn't just him on the line at this moment, but both of them, and he never knew it more than he did then. It was his job to protect his family... he just wished he'd have figured this shit out before it hit the fan.

"It's my baby"

Quinn balked at Will's admission. Months of being considered a drunken slut because she had to claim she slept with some random guy who got her drunk at a concert in Dayton (which was partly true, just the guy wasn't random and no alcohol was involved), of lying to her parents and getting disowned, of having to hold back tears at the thought of what she would have to give up to keep him safe, and he cracks under one damn question?

"What I mean is that I'm adopting Quinn's baby... and since I clearly have a vested interest in her and her child's safety, I've been helping her out with things... She's living in her sister's apartment, which is right next door to mine. She asked me to help out anyway, so if you need to look into it, feel free to call her... I know it's a unique position to be in, but..." Quinn held her breath at Will's words, wondering where the hell they'd come from and what Figgins would have to say about them. For his part Will is equally as shocked, but at the same time knows that this is what he'd always wanted the situation to become.

"This certainly is a unique position William" Figgins' brow furrowed as he considered this new information, clearly unsure what exactly to make of it. Eventually an uneasy smile crossed his face. "Well, at the very least I'm glad to know my prayers that Ms. Fabray would find guidance and you would find peace following your divorce have been answered." The twosome let out a sigh of relief before they put on show smiles of thanks at Figgins' words. "I will have to consider moving Ms. Fabray into another Spanish class, of course, but other than that I do not see having any other issues. As long as everything remains the same, we should all be fine" The warning isn't lost on either of them, and they nod submissively to the man. "Well now, very good... congratulations William, you'll be an excellent father"

Figgins' sticks out his hand for a shake, one that Will returns gladly, pleased the situation is working out. Quinn finds it harder to grin, her mind trying to come to terms with the situation that has been thrust onto her shoulders. She sees Figgins' nod to her and is barely able to return one, it quickly falling away when the man turns around and walks out of the choir room.

Will looks over his shoulder at her and she just looks back, her eyes showing all the different emotions that she is feeling at the moment (shock, love, fear, and confusion are just a few).

"What did you just do Will?" Quinn questioned, trying to picture the future Will had just set them on and only able to come up with pictures that are too blissful and domestic to be real.

"I protected my family, just like any father should"

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><p><em><strong>Some of you will recognize this from my other story<strong>_** Disconnected Vignettes.****_ I made the decision to go ahead and just separate this string of oneshots because they really weren't that disconnected anymore. This story is deliberately out of order but will all be connected and have some sort of flow as to not completely confuse you._**

**_NEXT CHAPTER_**

**_What Frannie Fabray does, doesn't, and doesn't want to know_  
><strong>

_I don't own Glee or any of its characters... I'm simply borrowing them._


	2. The Wisdom of Intentional Ignorance

_ig·no·rance_/ˈignərəns/

_**Noun: Lack of knowledge or information**_

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><p>When Frannie Fabray had gone off to college, her perspective on life had changed. The Christian values that her parents had instilled in her were still there, and strong, but she realized that life wasn't all about the Country Club and cookie-cutter WASP ideals. She realized that her goal in life had to be to make herself happy, even if it meant not being the picture perfect golden child her (alcoholic) parents wanted her to be.<p>

Anyway, they still had Quinn, and she now seemed to be perfectly content on the preppy blonde cheerleader route.

Plus, it wasn't like she was going to go join a commune or something, she just wasn't going to be a cheerleader anymore... or a member of the Young Republicans... or shop exclusively at Abercrombie...

So Frannie began to slowly but surely put distance between herself and Lima. She came home less, preferring to stay first at her dorm and then with her fellow sorority sisters. She partied on occasion, went to church (fairly) regularly, and called her parents every weekend (she could only escape them so much).

When it came to her relationship with her sister, however, she didn't remain that consistent. There had been such a large age difference between them that they couldn't really be friends of any sort, at least not until Quinn was older. Mostly Frannie had been Quinn's idol, and she'd indulge her on occasion by taking her out shopping or letting her tag along to the movies with her and her friends, but their interactions were mostly limited to within their home. When Frannie moved out, they'd ended. Sure, they shared the occasional text/phone call/e-mail, but not that many.

Soon Quinn was in High School and Frannie graduated college. She'd met an amazing guy who shared her church going habits and came from money (lots of it). Her parents approved of him wholeheartedly and soon after she'd graduated (a year after him), they'd gotten married in a beautiful ceremony where her mother cried and her father looked on with pride. Quinn had been there, playing the part of dutiful little sister to the fullest, and looking every bit like Frannie had at her age. In that moment, Quinn's future seemed so clear to her older sister, and she could only hope that Quinn too would come to realize that looks and popularity weren't all that mattered.

(Lord knows Mom and Dad wouldn't teach her that.)

Buying an apartment in one of the better parts of Lima had been Jack's idea, not Frannie's. His family got their money by being masters of manipulation, both of people and numbers, and he was well aware of the power a simple action could have. Even if they never did get to using it, Jack knew her parents would love the idea that the couple bought a place to live in her hometown so they could spend extended amounts of time there.

He had been completely right.

The complex they found was one of the nicer ones in Lima, full of a mix of police, teachers, bankers, doctors, and all those other respectable careers that left people able to either rent or own a place outside of Lima Heights. They'd managed to get the one bedroom for a steal, since the guy who owned it wanted to get out of there quick ("The crazy bitch next door spends half the time yelling at her husband and the other banging away in her damn craft room. I can't get any fucking peace!").

Soon after they bought it and managed to get a decorator in, they headed down for the weekend ("the first of not many" Jack told her, laughing). Her mother spent the entire time gushing about the crown molding, the color scheme, the darling furniture that just screamed classic... basically every single superficial thing the apartment had to offer. Her dad started off lamenting how his little girl was all grown up before boasting about how Jack was such a good, Christian man and was making such a name for himself with his chain of UPS stores ("You sure did pick a winner Sweetie!"). He ended the night on a rant about some issue Glen Beck had brought up and everyone just let him talk, throwing in comments when needed.

Frannie had been sad Quinn hadn't been able to come, especially when she found out it was because she was stuck at some Cheerios' rehearsal camp that she knew from experience was rivaled only by Guantanamo Bay in torture-related fun. But it wasn't like it was her place to say anything to Quinn or her parents...she had become the absent daughter, all wrapped up in her life away from Lima. Plus, she had been doing the exact same thing when she was in Quinn's shoes. All she could do now was try to forge more of a connection with her sister, try to steer her down an easier path.

When Quinn's 16th birthday came around, Frannie decided to splurge. A random performing arts group in Dayton was putting on the Broadway production of High Society and been getting good reviews. Quinn had always loved the movie (fancying herself a young Grace Kelly), and considering she was now in Glee Club (that one had thrown her for a loop until she learned Quinn's sort of boyfriend Finn joined first), Frannie figured Quinn would love to see it and they could make a weekend of it. She got the tickets, rented a hotel suite, and presented everything to great applause at Quinn's birthday bash.

The sisters were supposed to meet in Dayton the night before the show so they could spend the entire Saturday together ("From breakfast to shopping to show" Frannie had told Quinn excitedly). It would be the first time Quinn was driving anywhere over an hour away by herself and all were anxious, therefore it struck everyone as funny when it was Frannie who had a tire blow out, throwing off her arrival time until the next day. When her parents had demanded Quinn come back to Lima and just head back again the next day, it had been Frannie that jumped to her defense, saying not only would that be an extreme waste of gas, but that Quinn had proven herself to be nothing but trustworthy, and if she said she would stay in the hotel quietly, that was what she would do.

When she made it to the room the next day, Frannie had a feeling something was off. Quinn seemed to have this stunned quality to her that she normally didn't have, at least as well as Frannie could remember. She played if off well enough, saying she was just amazed she'd been allowed to stay by herself, but there was something more than that playing at her younger sister's mind. She couldn't seem to sit still, shirting around in her seat almost constantly, as if she couldn't get comfortable. Her right hand seemed to favor resting in the crook of her neck and if Frannie didn't know better (in denial?), she could have sworn she saw a faint bruising underneath a layer of foundation where the hand came to rest. After a couple of hours, the regular Quinn was back, but Frannie couldn't help but notice that her eyes always seemed to linger anytime she caught sight of guys with curly hair.

It was months later before she would really talk to her sister again. Almost daily texts were now their standard form of communication, so when Frannie's cell had rung at 7:54 one Friday night, she had been surprised to see Quinn's name pop up on her screen.

"Hey ther-" Frannie broke off the greeting when she heard the sharp sound of Quinn's sobs on the other end. "Quinn? Sweetie? What's the matter? Why are you crying?" Jack looked up quickly from the game he'd been watching, his clear concern at just those few words reminding Frannie why she loved him so much.

"Dad kicked me out" Quinn got out between cries.

"What? Why?"

"I'm... I'm pregnant" Frannie dropped down heavily into the chair she had been standing next to, looking blankly ahead at the TV, hearing Jack asking her what was going on and Quinn's continued sobs. The Dayton weekend flashed before her eyes and she knew without being told that what she had steadfastly denied happening in her head in fact did.

And now her 16 year old sister was disowned, homeless, and pregnant... and reaching out for help.

The first emotion that hit her was anger. Anger that Quinn had been so stupid and proven their parents right in their instinct not to trust her. Anger that her dad would be so concerned with his damn image that he'd kick out his own child when she needed him the most and that her mother was too much of a weak drunk to stand-up to him (because everything notwithstanding, Judy Fabray did love her children and wouldn't have wanted this to happen).

After the anger came this overwhelming sense of calm, and an intense need to make sure her sister (and she guessed her future niece/nephew) was safe. This wouldn't be another moment where Quinn found out a member of her family only cared about her in terms of her ability to act as a set piece in Russell Fabray's dream of being a live-action Norman Rockwell painting.

"Alright, OK, we can work with this." Frannie said as she breathed in deeply, "I mean, the pregnancy part not so much at the moment" Jack's jaw dropped and his eyes grew comically large "but the kicked out part... we can deal with. You can just go to our apartment and stay there as long as you need... or forever, I don't care"

"But Dad-"

"Quinn, I really don't care much about Dad right now. Plus, what's he gonna do to me? Not invite me to Thanksgiving? Not get me a Christmas gift? Big deal, his presents are horrible anyway" The laugh she managed to draw from Quinn made her smile before she caught the hysterical edge Quinn's voice was starting to take.

"I don't even know where your apartment is" The sobs have started again, and Frannie really isn't sure they're going to be stopping anytime soon. As she listed off the address, though, something changes in Quinn's tone. She's still crying, sure, but there is an anticipation there, a _bated breath_ quality that seems odd.

"...and don't worry about not having a key, the guy next door has been watching the place for us and has one to spare. He's a really nice guy, Quinn, I'm sure he'll be willing to help you out if you need anything before I can get down there. His name is Will Schu-" The sound of utter relief that escaped Quinn's mouth threw Frannie for a loop, until she vaguely remembered hearing the name Schuester being thrown around when her parents and Quinn were talking about school. She feels like he might even have mentioned to Jack in passing that he worked at McKinley. "Wait, is he one of your teachers?"

As Quinn explained how _Mr. Schue_ was her Spanish teacher and Glee Club director, Frannie noted that she seemed to be taking an immense comfort in the fact he would be there. Had she not been so happy that something seemed to be calming the girl down, she would have questioned just how comforted Quinn was. Frannie couldn't ever remember a teacher that touched her enough to leave such an impression.

It never even began to cross her mind to be concerned with just how _touched_ by Will Quinn actually was. She completely blanked on the fact that he'd mentioned seeing the exact same High Society performance that she and Quinn had when she called to check on the apartment a few weeks back. And when she recalled that he possessed a rather curly head of hair, she considered for a second if Quinn might be harboring a little bit of a school girl crush and that had had something to do with all the lingering stares she'd given those curly-haired Daytonians. She quickly dismissed the idea though, as he just didn't fit with all the other guys Quinn had always had crushes on in the past.

As silly as it may seem, it didn't really hit her yet to consider that the old rules didn't apply to Quinn anymore, that she wasn't still that dutiful little bridesmaid... or that maybe she never really was.


	3. The Unraveling of Tightly Wound Beings

_As I think you can already tell, I've taken a number of liberties with the canon of the show. In order for this whole crazy idea to work, I've done a bit of a major time change that I will explain better with an actual story, but for now just know that Will took over the Glee club in the middle of their freshmen year and the whole Terri pregnancy thing happened then. Quinn joined Glee with Santana and Brittany close to the end of the school year to screw up a big performance they had planned and also to get Finn back from Rachel (which didn't happen)._

* * *

><p>It hits her as she sits down in Glee. Will, no, <em>Mr. Schue<em> mentions something about how nice of an October it has been and she can't help but agree within her head, thinking how not having had to deal with her period left her much less nervous during lifts at practice.

It takes her a second to think that that isn't really a good thing.

Quite the opposite in fact.

She can feel her eyes grow wide and her stomach drop, but everything afterwards is a blur. She isn't sure how she ended up in her car, driving down I-75 at just the tipping point of too fast, but somehow she makes it almost 30 minutes before her mind and body realign.

It is somewhere around Findlay that she starts to seriously consider the probability of being pregnant. She thinks about how long it had been since she last picked up a tampon (August) and how long it has been since Dayton (September). She considers if it could just be another case of her Cheerio's diet screwing her body up, but after a long count of her recent food intake (a habit she can't break no matter what), she decides it would be impossible. If anything she notices she's been eating more than usually, which doesn't bode well for her at all.

By the time Quinn starts to consider that the achiness in her chest isn't really from lifting Brittany by herself, it's all she can do to keep from breaking down and accidently running her car into a tree in the process.

She's nearing Toledo when she pretty much decides that a pregnancy test would just confirm what she already knows in her heart to be true:

She's pregnant with Will's baby.

More importantly, she's pregnant with _Mr. Schuester's_ baby.

There goes any chance of a normal life.

(Quinn won't admit that normal probably walked out the window when she started flirting with him in the middle of the hotel bar and was absolutely gone when she slept with him later on that night)

This isn't supposed to happen to her. She's the President of the Celibacy Club, the Head Cheerleader, the daughter of one of the most fanatical Glenn Beck fans in Ohio... her life isn't supposed to be straight out of some Lifetime movie (she isn't Rachel Berry for God's sake!).

She passes out of Ohio and into Michigan with no sense of fanfare. Her empty light comes on right next to the "Welcome to Temperance" sign and she can't help but think that if the teetotallers hadn't lost the battle, there would be no chance in hell she'd be pregnant right now. As she pulls into the BP, an overwhelming sense of panic runs over her, spending her sprinting into the single bathroom where she lets out a wail, her arms involuntarily hugging her abdomen (she can't say if she's trying to comfort the baby or squeeze it out... either option is possible). She isn't sure how long she sits in there, rocking back and forth on the toilet seat, before a knock from a worried patron has her cleaning herself up and slipping back into the HBIC mask she knows won't last for long.

She slips the $100 out of its hiding space in her purse and notices the light flashing on her phone. She has 5 missed calls and all of them are from Will. A check of the time shows that her bathroom meltdown had lasted for over 10 minutes and in that time the end of Glee rehearsal would have come. It hurt slightly that at least Santana hadn't called to check on her (Brittany wouldn't have been able to since she put her phone in the dishwasher again), but she really doesn't have time to dwell on the fact her friends are only her friends as far as they can use her, because her phone is going off again and she doesn't want Will to get too freaked out and do something dumb like call her parents.

"Hello?" Quinn's voice sounds shaky to her ears, but she often thinks it sounds that way only to find no one else hears it. She wonders if it's just a case of her being paranoid or if people don't care enough about her to take the time to listen.

"Quinn? What's wrong? What's the matter?" She wasn't expecting his voice to cause such a reaction in her. All at once she wants to laugh and to cry, to shout for joy and yell in fury... it's too overwhelming for her to pick one reaction to have. "Quinn? Please... you just ran out of Glee with this look on your face that... just say something, anything... I need to know you're alright" Without preamble, she begins to sob again, getting out the words _car, out of gas, _and_ Temperance_ before it becomes too much. She can hear his breath getting labored and the sound of his keys jangling, a sign he is now running to get to his car.

"Did you just say you car was out of gas so you went to a town in Michigan?"If the situation wasn't so dire she would have laughed, but instead she just kept crying, Will trying to calm her down over the phone as he gets into his car. His keys turning in the ignition send some sort of shock through her and as his car engine starts, she let out her confession.

"I think I'm pregnant" For the longest time she only hears the sound of his car running, his breathing so light and shallow that she fears he might pass out. She can only imagine the things that are blasting through his mind (if they are anything like the ones in hers, she feels a remarkable need to comfort him and go back to that hotel room where the reality of their lives didn't matter).

"Where are you?"

"A gas station in Temperance, right off the highway"

"I'll be there as soon as I can"

"No, no, I can just fill up the tank and come back"

"You shouldn't be driving right now, you're upset "

"And you think you're in any better shape? At least I've had time to process this, you-"

"I've been driving for awhile now Quinn, I think I've got this handled"

"If I remember correctly, I think we've established that just by virtue of being an adult, doesn't mean you have the best grip on a situation" Ice Queen, Head Cheerleader Quinn is back and Will immediately regrets what he said.

"You're right, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said it like that" He sighs and she can immediately picture him straightening up in his car seat, preparing what he wants to say, "What I meant is that I just don't want to have to worry about you driving right now... I can't handle that on top of everything." She doesn't feel like arguing with him, not now, not ever really. She can't even bring herself to be angry at him for the whole situation. It was a first for her, actually, normally she is all about placing the blame on someone else, but she can't this time, not when she considers just how insistent she had been that night, how she had went out looking for an adventure and a thrill she had never experienced before.

No one ever accused her of being an underachiever.

Waiting for Will to make it to Temperance gives her more time than she would like to consider what it will mean for her when the test comes back positive (she doesn't foresee it not having that result, not anymore). She had honestly thought she had a shot of getting out of Lima, of seeing the world or at least the rest of the continental United States. A baby would change all that, a baby would mean hurrying through High School by the bare minimum of classes and spending her afternoons studying during naps and between diaper changes and feedings. She can't even begin to consider her parent's reaction... she doesn't want to picture how horrible it will be.

Her mind starts to consider what possible explanation she can tell the world for how she ended up in this mess. It's a case where honesty can't be the best policy for all it will do is bring trouble for everyone. Will is a good man, minus the poor choices he made that night, and he shouldn't be punished for something she was just as, if not more, responsible for (she was the one who'd ordered him that last drink, the one that finally pushed him just past sobriety to the place where bad decisions look good). She'll have to bear not only the cross of a slut, but of a drunk as well (how else would good girl Quinn sleep with someone she had never met before?). She's thinking through her story, leaning back in the seat so passerby will think she's just sleeping, when a knock on her window causes her eyes to flutter open.

Will is looking at her in a way that causes her breath to catch. He's wearing that same longing look she's seen him throw her way a few times since that night, but this time there is a mix of panic and awe to it. She considers for a second that for him, minus the whole situation of how it happened, getting someone pregnant is not exactly the end of the world for him... in fact it is probably the opposite. Anyone who knows anything about Will Schuester will tell you that he is made to be a dad. No matter what, she decides, it has to be possible that Will gets to raise this baby... anything else might kill him, and she can't bear to see that happen.

She unlocks the door and Will immediately opens it, crouching down so he can look her in the eyes.

"Hi." His greeting is simple, almost comically so. She half expected herself to start crying again the minute she set eyes on him but instead she finds herself leaning forward and bringing her lips to his. It's a sweet and gentle press, nothing like how it had been in Dayton. She's surprised when he deepens it though, bringing his hand up to her cheek as he does so. When they finally pull apart she can't help but nuzzle into his palm, seeking comfort and enjoying the feel of his skin too much to relinquish contact. For his part Will seems not to mind it, in fact he seems to be even less inclined than she is to move, and considering he's the one squatting down, he can't be comfortable. She notices the wetness on his face and thinks for a second he is crying, but realizes it's from the rain.

"You're getting rained on," she says softly, knowing it's probably a stupid thing to say, but considering he seems so content to stay where he is, she feels like it might need to be said.

"I could say the same thing about you." She feels the slight spray on her skin then, and it starts to filter in that she's actually damp all over her body. Her uniform feels rough against her skin and she has an overwhelming urge to get out of it and into the change of clothing she has in her bag.

"I didn't even realize it was raining," she thinks aloud, drawing a look from Will that makes her wonder if he thinks she might be a tad bit unhinged. If she's honest with herself, she thinks that she might possibly be. "I guess I was too busy with other things to notice." Will nods in understanding as he moves his thumb against her cheek in a soothing motion, studying her for any sign of distress. Whatever he sees, or doesn't see, seems to make him happy(ish) and he smiles.

"Go change out of that uniform and dry off. I'll get you some gas so we can head out and find a drug store." Quinn goes to grab the $100 she'd been in the process of getting, but Will stills the motion. "I've got it, you just go change."

"Will-" She begins to protest but the look on his face stops her. She remembers back to Dayton when he talked about how much he missed having someone to take care of, missed feeling needed, and she decides to let the issue drop. "Would you grab my bag from the trunk?" He answers by grabbing the keys she left resting in her lap and standing up. As he walks around to the rear of the car, Quinn reaches back into the car and gropes around for the umbrella she always kept there.

She doesn't plan on giving the thing any thought (no matter what Rihanna says, an umbrella is sometimes just an umbrella) but as she moves to open it, the navy and white remind her of where exactly it came from. She can remember her Dad coming back from taking Frannie to her orientation at Xavier, the proud smile on his face and his arms full of all the gear any proud parent could think to buy. The idea that one day he would be smiling that same smile and carrying the same gear because of her had always been one that warmed her heart... now it seemed like a pipe dream.

After all, how many unwed mothers make it to college?

Better yet, after finding out about any of this, what were the odds Russell Fabray would ever smile for her again?

"Is that a Xavier umbrella?" Will's question startles her, but if he notices he doesn't say.

"Yeah, my sister went there. My Dad bought a bunch of stuff the day she got in... I think he thought if he surrounded me with enough things that said Xavier I'd want to attend." Her laugh is sad and the smile on his face loses some of its shine. "But that kind of school isn't for me."

"What sort of school is?" Will is trying to make her smile, trying to get her happy, but it doesn't have the effect he was intending. Instead, Quinn starts to feel the tears pooling in her eyes and she has to look away from him... the guilt of the entire situation is probably already starting to eat him up inside and her tears would just make it that much worse for him.

"Does it even matter anymore?" That wasn't what she wanted to say, not at all. Her tear-filled eyes turn back to Will and are met by ones equally as wet but a hundred times more conflicted. There is guilt there, of course, but a giddiness as well that probably is only serving to make the guilt worse. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-"

"It does matter... no matter what the test says, it does matter. You'll get to go to the school you want, no question... I won't settle for anything less." The hand she'd been reaching out to take the bag from him instead finds its way to his, and again she finds herself unwilling to let go of him. How had she let him go so easily after that night? How had they managed to keep up the facade that nothing had or was going on between them? How much of all of this was simply because of the baby? Was all of it?

Will passes the bag he's still holding into her hand and pulls her gently up and out of her car. The rain is nothing but a drizzle now and they are both way past the point of an umbrella doing them any good (if that wasn't a metaphor for their situation at the moment, she wasn't sure what was). She finds herself caught in his gaze and has to resist an overwhelming urge to lick away a water drop running down the side of his face. If the hungry look in his eyes is any indication, he's fighting the same battle as well.

"You should go on and change so we can go." Will's suggestion brings back the weight of the issue hanging over them. She nods her head in agreement and he finally lets go of her and the bag. She starts to walk towards the bathroom but feels a need to turn back around and get another look at Will. She watches him as he gets into her car and settles in. She knows that it probably shouldn't mean that much to her, but seeing him adjusting the driver's seat and making her car temporarily his gives her this warm feeling she can't quite describe.

In the short time since she'd driven off the lot in her new car she hasn't let a single other person drive it. It wasn't because she didn't trust them (which was a lie she liked to tell herself at night), but because she didn't want to share. With Will though, she didn't mind letting him in, in fact she found herself relishing in it. She knew this was happening all too fast, that decisions and feelings made or felt in such a moment of intensity were notoriously wrong or ill-advised, but she couldn't bring herself to care. Doubt and fear and all those other bad things would have their moments later, Quinn was going to focus on the good for just a few seconds longer.

This time she takes a good look as she enters the restroom. The overwhelming scent of cleaner and air freshener immediately turns her stomach and she had no clue how she had managed to spend all that time in here earlier. Stripping off her uniform, she draws the simple red dress she kept in her bag out and holds it up to the light. She has never worn it before, having bought it on a whim at Target and then promptly forgetting about it once cheering had started up again. She wasn't even sure how it ended up in her car, but as she considers the garment she has to wonder if it's some sort of cosmic joke or irony at work. A scarlet dress is not the typical thing one would wear to find out if your torrid night with your teacher has resulted in a pregnancy, but wearing a cheerleading uniform would probably make the whole experience infinitely more wrong.

Outside is cooler then she remembers it being when she went in. The rain has stopped and in its place is a chill that makes her long for her wool jacket. She sees that Will had finished filling up her car and brought it around to the space closest to the bathroom. She walks towards it and notices Will starting to get out so she can take back her seat, but a raised hand from her stops him and she makes her way to the passenger seat. As she opens the door she is blasted by warm air and she has never been quite so thankful for whoever created the heater. A cardigan she didn't even know she had is waiting for her on the seat and when she pulls it on she realizes there is a reason she didn't know about it because it wasn't hers at all.

"I figured you might want a jacket or something," Will supplies and she looks over at him with a smile. "I, umm, saw a WalMart a little while back. We can go get a test there."

"Just go to a dollar store. Their tests are just as sensitive as any on the market," Quinn comments without a thought as she clicks her seatbelt, but when she hears no reply, she considers how that sounded. For his part, Will is simply staring straight ahead, not wanting to think about how she might know that. "Santana," she supplies as an explanation, and he isn't quite sure that it makes the situation any better, but at least it means she isn't the one who did the research.

"Is that some knowledge she's had to use often?"

"I don't think we are in any position to judge."

"Fair enough." Will feels like a fool for asking, but he hates that Quinn took it the wrong way, although she probably has a point. As much as it was said out of concern, it probably was rooted in some sort of judgment about the girl he had no right to possess. "I didn't mean it-"

"I know," Quinn cuts him off with a sigh, "I just also know what people tend to think about her, and although I have no clue why I feel like I should defend her when she doesn't seem to do it herself, I still do."

"It's because you're a good person Quinn, no matter how misguided you might be at times." They're returning to the conversation from Dayton and it's having an effect on the way she's thinking. Her mind is getting muddled with all the memories of that night and as much as she'd like to get lost in them, now can't be about then, it has to be about... well, now.

"She's only had to use it once... it was right after she heard about the failure rate of condoms and she'd been to one of Puck's parties." It's a stat that Will can't help but wonder at and one Quinn wishes she'd remembered that night. Then again, who really thinks they could ever be in that small percentage where things go wrong?

He pulls out of the gas station and onto the interstate, Quinn navigating him towards the dollar store his iPhone had found on GoogleMaps. It isn't a long drive, but it is long enough to start raising their anxiety. For Quinn, it's all about preparing herself for the inevitable, for the positive that she knows the test will come back with. It's her body and she had gotten to know it well and she can just feel that something is off... and it isn't because of nerves. Will, for his part, is trying to remain as neutral as possible. He remembers the time Terri was sure she was pregnant, how they'd celebrated and prepared... only to find out she'd been lying. He wouldn't get his hopes up until he saw a test... then he would start to think about what all of this meant, and how he was going to be able to handle it without ending up on the unemployment line (better that then jail).

Pulling into the lot, Will is almost already out the door before he even gets the car into park. Quinn isn't sure when it had been decided that he would be the one to buy the test, in fact, she's sure it hadn't been, but she doesn't object. She isn't quite ready for the looks of shame or pity to be directed at her, and she knows Will is sure to get a few "awes" from females who are sure to be charmed by the fact he is the one buying a pregnancy test. The more she thinks about that idea, though, the more a feeling of jealousy starts to come over her, and it's only her deeply developed sense of self-preservation that keeps her from marching into the store and staking her claim on him (although what exactly that claim is, she isn't sure).

The plastic bag Will brings out with him is too big for one simple test. She had figured he would be smart and buy more than one, but she didn't think he would buy out the store's supply. As he passes the bag to her so he can get in the car, she can't stop herself from taking a peek. Inside she finds a number of different tests, as well as some bottled waters and a few snacks. Will shrugs are her inquisitive look. "I figured you might be hungry."

She doesn't pay much attention to where Will is driving the car, instead focusing on the tests and picking which type of cracker she wants. She absent mindedly asks Will if he wants anything while she reads the directions for one of the test brands, and when he mentions the granola bar he bought, she ends up unwrapping it and holding it out in his direction so he can take a bite. The warmth of his breath on her hand finally snaps her out of her daze and she gazes fondly over at him as he chews, a smile starting to form as he notices her attention.

"What?" He asks with a laugh as he finishes swallowing, looking over at Quinn briefly before turning his eyes back to the road. Quinn, though, doesn't turn away, and just keeps watching him as his smile grows. Over the course of many months, she spent a great deal of time studying Will Schuester, learning and observing many different things as the lenses she saw him through changed. Now she is trying to take as honest of an inventory of him as possible.

He's the ultimate Mister Nice Guy. A man who desperately wants to see the good in everyone and desperately wants to succeed. She thinks the fact he spent most of his adult life in a relationship and job that didn't let him shine might be part of the reason why he tries so hard to make the Glee Club successful, and why it seems he tries to push them to recreate his glory days. Why should he try something new when nothing has worked for him since he graduated?

"Your parents are out of town this weekend, aren't they?" It's a question that shouldn't be so easy for him to ask and for her to hear. It should be something that is said awkwardly and with hesitation, but Will barely evens looks away from the road as he throws it out there. His nonchalance says something about just how far the situation has gone.

"Yeah, they're visiting my sister and her husband in Cincinnati." As she considers the question more, she looks over at him in confusion. "How did you know about that?" There is a slight implication there, one that Quinn isn't quite sure she should be comfortable with. The idea Will might have been listening for an opportunity to spend time with her (repeat performance?), is one she finds herself liking much too fast, and one Will denies just as quickly.

"You mentioned it rather loudly during practice on Monday... don't worry, I'm not stalking you."

"I wasn't worried." She pauses before she lets out the next bit, making sure she can get it out confidently and without stumbling on her words. "You wouldn't have to stalk me, though. I'm an open book for you."

Her words send a nervous thrill through Will, just another in the long line of feelings he is still trying to process. One thing he knows is that he shouldn't be enjoying this. Right now his mind should be blazing with worry and images of Figgins firing him and his face all over the newspaper and TV as a predator parents should be looking out for. He shouldn't be this calm, he shouldn't be this rational, and he shouldn't be hoping that the tests come back positive.

There isn't really any way for this to end safely for him. The kiss earlier (and really the kisses and much more in Dayton) is proof that something is brewing between them that Will can't (and doesn't really want to) avoid. This is the age of a more selfish Will Schuester, someone who isn't afraid to strike out for what he wants. But they are so far apart in their lives in so many ways that even with whatever they are feeling, and even with a possible child between them, that taking this anywhere would just be a bad move that probably would end badly naturally if the social forces of the rest of the world didn't get to them first.

He wasn't sure if that thought would be enough for him to stop though. It clearly wasn't shutting him up now.

"An open book, huh? Something tells me I'd be reading you for awhile"

"I can only hope."

Will parks the car in a space in a lot that Quinn hadn't even realized they were in. She looks skeptical and confused as she takes in the hotel in front of her.

"You can't just take the tests anywhere" He looks between the office and her before reaching across the console and taking her hand. "I know I should have asked you this earlier, I actually feel like an idiot now that I didn't, but-"

"I'm late, my chest hurts, I'm going to the bathroom ALL the time, I can't stay in the cafeteria for more than five minutes because I can smell everything in there and I either want to eat it all or puke, and if you haven't noticed, I've been putting Rachel to shame in the _difficult _department lately." Will laughs before growing silent and letting her finish, "I'm pregnant Will, I just know it" Her green eyes are filled with a sad conviction, but he can't help but remember how Terri had felt so many of these things only to find out it had all been a bodily lie.

He gets the room quickly while Quinn calls her parents and feeds them some lie about staying with Brittany (it's a lie she knows they'll never check on since calling Brittany's house usually involves a 30 minute conversation with her mother). The whole situation is starting to feel surreal and wrong but she doesn't see any way to make it feel more comfortable. The idea of taking one of the tests at her home makes her feel like she'd be defiling it in some way and she doesn't want to risk taking it anywhere else in town. For as long as she can, she has to leave this whole thing outside of Lima (as long as she can will probably end the minute those tests show a positive, but she'll live in oblivion for a few minutes longer).

The room he gets is small, just a simple bed, chair, and TV affair. It isn't as if they plan to stay there long (the fact he spent over $60 on something they only plan to use for a couple hours max makes Quinn feel incredibly guilty), and really the only amenity they are concerned about is the toilet. Neither one is quite sure what to do now that they are actually there. The mechanics of the whole thing really only require Quinn to do something, leaving Will unsure the best way to act as the useless observer.

"Do you wanna help me open the boxes and take a look at the directions?" Quinn asks, trying to involve Will in the process and ease the odd sort of nervous anticipation and tension that has risen between them.

"Yeah, sure." The eagerness in in voice is a little disconcerting, and he sort of cringes when he hears it, but Quinn simply smiles and sits down cross-legged on the bed, pouring out the contents of the bag as she does so. Even though he was the one that bought all of them, Will still manages to be surprised at the amount of test boxes laying there.

"I guess I might have gone a bit overboard," he admits weakly as he joins her, drawing a chuckle from the blonde.

"Yeah, but it's better to be safe than sorry... and it's slightly adorable." The flirty look they share feels odd considering what they are doing, but nice nonetheless. As they open more and more boxes and read aloud the different directions, they find themselves at ease, even laughing as they find themselves sorting tests by amount of time they need. Soon, though, the tests are sorted and the awkwardness starts to return. Quinn's eyes shift nervously from the tests to the bathroom door, while Will tries to avoid looking over that way, instead focusing on Quinn and the TV behind her.

"Why don't I just turn on the TV while you're..." He struggles to find the right word, trying not to acknowledge the specifics of what she'll be doing.

"Yeah, that would be good" He picks up the remote while she picks up the tests, trying to maintain the various different groupings they'd created. Almost as soon as she closes the bathroom door, Will lands on a channel showing the tail-end of _Singing In The Rain_ and even though he knows he should be focusing on what's going on behind the wooden door, he can't help but get slightly enthralled by the images on the TV. As the credits start to roll, Will is tempted to go check on Quinn, but when the opening of _High Society_ starts, he's too flabbergasted by the coincidence to move. He tries to think about what possible sign the universe is trying to send them by playing the movie of the musical that got them into this mess, but comes up with a blank.

"Is that _High Society_?" He looks over, startled at the sight of Quinn standing in the doorway, drying her hands with a towel.

"Yeah, it is... are you...?" He trails off as he realizes he isn't quite sure what he's asking.

"I figured I'd just wait 10 minutes from when I took the last one to read them all"

"That's smart," he answers lamely, moving over on the bed so she can join him. In the time she'd been in the bathroom, he's sprawled out on the bed, getting comfortable on the outside when he was getting more and more stressed on the inside. Quinn takes the hint and lays down too, sinking into the mattress that might seriously be as old as she is. It long-since stopped being firm and is indented in the middle, causing the twosome to slightly roll into each other. Without much thought, Will finds himself wrapping his arm around her and settling her against him, her head finding a place to lay on his chest. The warmth of his body and the sound of his heart beating lulls her into a slight daze, one that even the impending results can't ruin. She can't remember ever finding this much comfort in Finn, and instead of being saddened by that, she finds herself indifferent.

"I've never had to do this before... wait like this," he comments softly, staring at the images of Bing Crosby and Grace Kelly on the screen.

"Did you and Terri..." She's asking a whole bunch of questions in those few simple words, and Will isn't sure he really wants to answer any of them. He doesn't want to admit the truth of last year to anyone, but if he has to, he finds he doesn't really mind that it's Quinn.

"No, we didn't take a test together." Quinn isn't sure what to make of his short answer, and isn't quite sure what to say in the face of last year being brought up. The fact that Will had almost been a father before is something she doesn't want to bring up, but she wants to understand what happened. The whole school had known about Terri's pregnancy, but no one had known how exactly they'd gone from happily married with a baby on the way to divorced and not pregnant within a matter of weeks. The word _miscarriage_ had floated around but no one had taken the initiative to ask and Will hadn't been that forthcoming.

"I'm sorry that Terri lost-"

"Terri was never pregnant."

"What?" Quinn sits up, looking stunned and confused and feeling an anger starting to form in the pit of her stomach. She can distinctly remember the image of a pregnant Terri walking the halls of McKinley, and can only assume what Will is about to tell her.

"At first she had a hysterical pregnancy... she had all the symptoms but no baby. Once she found out there wasn't one she just decided that instead of telling me like some normal person, she'd pretend she was pregnant and then find some baby to be ours" Quinn isn't quite sure what to say to that. She can see the hurt and resentment forming in Will's eyes as he considers his ex-wife and more then ever (even more then back in Dayton) she can understand just how screwed up Terri left him. Before she knows it, she's leaning down and kissing him, trying to distract him from the pain and desperate to keep him from falling into the memory of his part. She knows that in just a few minutes he'll understand just how much she is his future, but a part of her wants him to come to that realization without the push of a child.

What starts out sweet grows hotter as it continues and Quinn suddenly finds herself trapped underneath Will's body, his lips exploring her neck desperately, finding the places that made her squirm last time. The timer on her cell phone going off should spur them to end this and go into the bathroom, but instead Will seems more desperate to have this continue, almost like he doesn't want to know what all 13 of the sticks are going to say.

"I'll never lie to you like that Will," she breathes out as his lips find a particularly sensitive spot, the same place were she carried his mark for days after Dayton. This time, though, he doesn't try to claim her, he simply rests his lips there, almost reverently. Slowly, though, he draws away and she finds herself looking into watery eyes that make her heart break. "But I'll lie like that _**for**_ you"

"God, I wish you weren't gonna have to do that." The tests are now a formality to both of them. They're clearly on the same wavelength. Now, though, their dilemma isn't quite so abstract, it's a cold hard fact that is demonstrated by the 13 positive pregnancy tests laying on that bathroom counter. The reality of what they will have to do to survive this is starting to sink in and the notion that they can only do it together is clear. But the one big thought running through both their minds is that they're having a _baby_, and as absolutely scary and overwhelming that idea is, there is a happiness there (admittedly greater in one than the other), and for just a few minutes, they both need to try to relish in it.

Once they leave the hotel room, they might not get a moment like this for a long time.

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><p><em>This chapter and all others are dedicated to the most awesome writing cheerleader, the lovely Jacky. Without her, nothing else in this story would be written or thought of. <em>


	4. The Fanciful Innocence of Youth

_Love dictates, but a kiss writes the secrets of the heart_

_~Unknown_

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><p>"Quinn, your baby rocks!"<p>

"Excuse me?" Quinn quickly slammed closed her locker so she could get a look at Puck, leaning comfortably against the wall next to her, smiling.

"I mean your baby is awesome, she's a little baby badass"

"Don't call my baby any sort of ass, and why are you saying all this? You haven't even met her" Puck smirked before gesturing back towards Ms. Pillsbury's office.

"She's over with Ms. P and she keeps spitting up on her" Puck started laughing as he remembered the look on the Guidance Counselor's face, "It's like she's enjoying her suffering".

"Oh God" Quinn muttered as she quickly left a still laughing Puck and hurried down the hall towards the Guidance Office. A sharp cry and then an equally hysteric moan sent her running faster, and when she reached the door she pulled it open without so much as a pause, desperate to see what was going on in there.

To say she was unhappy with what she saw was an understatement.

Grace lay fussing in her stroller, her front covered in the milk Quinn knew she had spit up. Emma was leaning against her desk, frantically rubbing and scrubbing the front of her dress that was covered just as Grace's clothes were. Will, who had apparently gotten there just moments before she had, looked entirely overwhelmed as he tried to go between the two of them, unable to really navigate the distressed noises that both of them were making.

Quinn wasn't very proud of her next movement, but maternal instinct took over before she could stop it and she found herself pushing Will out of her way and over towards Emma in her haste to get to Gracie, whose face was getting redder as she cried. It bothered her severely that Will had seemed to be torn between helping their child and the red-head determined to steal her way into his heart (something that Quinn had assumed was occupied by herself). She had known the minute she'd heard Ms. Pillsbury had come back to Lima after a year in Cincinnati that her plan had been to try to get Will back, and it seemed like she was going to try to use Quinn's baby to do it.

Fat chance.

"Baby Grace, why are you crying sweetie?" Quinn's voice took on a musical quality as she bent down to Gracie's level, hoping to sooth her.

"I don't think she likes her formula" Emma managed to get out as Will tried to cover the cloth she was using in sanitizer for her.

"It isn't formula" Quinn quipped. Emma's eyes bugged out as she realized what the liquid really was, her breath hitching in such a way even Quinn was feeling a little concerned. It was overwhelmed, however, by her anger that her baby was covered in spit up and howling. She reached around behind the stroller to grab the rag she had put in there that morning, only to come up empty handed. Turning around, she nearly growled as she realized that the cloth had been pilfered by Ms. Pillsbury for her own uses. Without much thought, she shrugged off the cardigan she'd worn over her uniform and began to use it to mop up the mess on Gracie, muttering soothing sounds to the baby as she did so.

"I can't believe you're using your own clothing for that" Emma's voice was pitchy and panicked, so much so that Quinn's maternal instincts couldn't help but be slightly misdirected.

"When it's your child and you know they're upset, you don't care what it is you're using just as long as it makes them better" To stress her point, Quinn lightly bopped Gracie on the nose and made a popping sound, causing the cleaned up child to start to giggle. "See? All better"

"Emma, I think you are just going to have to change... There is no way we'll be able to get this clean enough for you" Will's comment was half-hearted, his attempts to help clean up Emma slowing and then stopping as he watched Quinn with Gracie. He should have known better then to have left his daughter with Emma, but she had been so insistent that she could handle the little girl and he did still have a bit of a soft spot when it came to the redhead (one he was sure to be getting in trouble for fairly soon). He knew she had been trying to impress him, and that it was wrong to give her false hope, but he'd just wanted a few more minutes to finish his grading and Quinn had been in the middle of practice when Mrs. Weiss had dropped the baby off.

If Emma noticed the shift in Will's attention, she didn't show it. Instead she was hastily pulling out her spare bag full of clothing and a bathroom's worth of shampoo and soap. Changing outfits just wouldn't get her clean enough, not when breast milk was involved. Quinn watched the older woman's movements with an amused smirk, Gracie now cradled against her chest and seemingly watching Emma as well.

"I'd avoid using the girl's locker room showers if I were you. Santana and Brittany are probably still in there" Quinn's comment was enough to draw Will away from his gawking and he tilted his head in question, already getting the implication but wondering what the story was behind it. The anxious red-head didn't seem to take the information past the shower, and started muttering nervously about what other place she could wash up at in the school as she made her way out of her office, Grace choosing that exact moment to start laughing and waving her arms at Emma's retreating back.

"Gracie, stop that" Quinn half-heartedly scolded, barely trying to control Gracie.

"Oh, don't bother... I know she's just doing what you would if you could" Quinn's eyes narrowed as she took in Will's light smile that started wilting under her gaze.

"What the hell was she doing with Grace?" The coldness and anger in her tone stunned Will, and it took him a second to recover and come back with a response.

"Quinn, it's not a big deal... Emma's just-" Will struggled for a second to find the right words to placate her while acknowledging the full scope of his complex relationship with the Guidance Counselor. Quinn rolled her eyes at his struggle, moving Gracie to her other shoulder as she reached into the diaper bag to pull out a pacifier she knew would be needed in a matter of moments.

"I think the words you're looking for _are in love with me and wants in my pants and is trying to use our baby to do it_"

"Quinn, we both know I'm not going to let anything happen between Emma and me" He moved closer to the two, wanting to wrap his arms around them but knowing that that would be a poor decision considering where they were.

"Oh, trust me, I know" Will couldn't help but smile at her confidence and the fact that she seemed to trust him in a way Terri never did. "But what I'm trying to figure out is why you thought someone with OCD could handle a baby who just this morning pooped on you while you were changing her diaper"

"She told me... God, it doesn't really matter what she told me, does it? I should have known better" He looked down at the floor for a second to collect his thoughts before looking back up just in time to see Quinn place a kiss on Grace's now sleeping head. It reminded him once again just how naturally she had taken on the mantel of _Mom_, and how it both warmed and broke his heart that she did it so easily.

Was that part of the reason he was so willing to let Emma have the baby? Did he want her to get along fantastically with Grace so _she_ could be her mom while Quinn returned to being a normal teenager? He knew everyone else in the school was expecting that to happen, expecting that the normal boundaries in adoptions would be established once Ms. Pillsbury returned and the relationship that looked to be forming before she left actually did. Was he subconsciously trying to make everyone else happy?

"You're right, you should have. And I know that normally you would... but whenever _she_ comes into the picture you seem to lose your sense" There was that jealousy Will had been waiting for, laced with a bit of anger for good measure. It was enough to shake him out of his moment of reflection and bring him back to the situation at hand. If there was one thing he was good at, it was calming down an angry Quinn Fabray.

"I don't lose my mind around her anywhere near as much as I do when it comes to you" His eyes fell on his daughter briefly before meeting Quinn's again. "And you're holding the proof" The gentle smile that crossed her face was enough to tell him that he was at least partially forgiven, and this time he couldn't stop himself from stepping forward and placing himself next to her, knowing that if anyone barged in or happened to look upon them that he could use the excuse of wanting to check on Gracie without disturbing her slumber. He leaned down slowly to place a kiss on his little girl's head, his lips lingering there as he closed his eyes and breathed in that milky, powdery smell that only a baby could have. Resting a hand on the back of her head, he straightened back up, managing to just graze Quinn's cheek with a kiss as well. Her eyes closed reflexively and she let out a ragged breath, a smirk making its way across Will's face as he saw her reaction.

"You're being very naughty today, aren't you?" Her eyes opened slowly as she talked, the words almost purred out in that bedroom voice that just about makes him the one breathing uneasily. Quinn tried to act stern as she stared him down, but the lusty quality of her hazel eyes give her away and the smile she put on had him thinking about bedrooms and stolen moments during naps that ended far too soon.

"Didn't I say you make me lose my mind?"

**...**

She walked out of the office with a smile on her face, pushing Gracie in her stroller and thinking about what to tell Will to bring home for dinner later. It took her a second to register Puck standing against the wall, watching her with a look that didn't quite fit.

"Can I help you?" She didn't mean to snap out the comment, but the way he was staring had her uncomfortable, and the fact he didn't seem to acknowledge her tone by adopting his badass demeanor made it worse.

"Didn't I tell you she was a badass?" He should have be laughing as he said this, or at least acting smugly, but he wasn't. "You only laugh like that when you're pleased with yourself"

"As much as I like to think my baby is a genius, I doubt she has the capacity to decide to deliberately puke all over someone and then laugh about it" She's got tenser as she talked, the realization that Puck had been looking in on them making her wonder just what all he saw and what he perceived it to be.

"I'm not going to say anything" He doesn't have to qualify that with what he's referring to, and before she knew it there are tears pooling in her eyes and she had a remarkable urge to start begging Puck to just walk away. "I know what it's like not to have an old man. I wouldn't want to put that on anyone"

"Puck-"

"No, it's fine. You don't have to say anything. I'm all for banging an older hottie every once and awhile" He pushed off from the wall and walked over to the front of the stroller, bending down to get a closer look at Gracie. The strange look from earlier melted away and the smile that took its place reminded Quinn of all the nice (well nice for Puck) things he'd done for her while she had been pregnant. "You guys have to be more careful though... you mess this up and she's gonna be the one to pay for it" Puck looked up at her with imploring eyes and she almost wanted to cry again because finally someone knew the truth and it wasn't all going downhill.

"We will. I promise" He nodded his head, satisfied with her answer, before giving Gracie another soft gaze and standing up. He stuffed his hands in the pockets of his letterman jacket and gave Quinn a once over.

"Have I told you lately your boobs look awesome?"

She'd never been quite so realized for leering before in her life.

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><p>A million thanks to Dustbowl Dance, or Jacky, for ALL her help.<p>

Again, other than Gracie, I own nothing in this.


	5. Interlude: What Another Sees from Afar

"_Oh please. She has a family, she's a MOTHER"_

Santana, and most of the people watching the fight, realized her mistake as soon as the words left her mouth. Using what is now her teacher's kid as ammunition in a fight can't do anything good for her case, and it only proved to further infuriate the pissed off Head Cheerleader.

Even though Mr. Schue had adopted the baby, Grace Marie she thinks she heard him tell Figgins, everyone knew Quinn had spent the summer helping with her infant, part of the deal everyone figured the two had brokered. She was still very much a mother to her child, and like any good mother who felt like her baby was being ill-treated, Santana's words caused her to snap, and she began to surge at the Latina harder than ever, Mr. Schue the only thing keeping her from pouncing.

It was there her mistake really became clear, because everyone noticed the very brief moment when it seemed like Mr. Schue just might have let Quinn at her, when his grip loosened for just the slightest of moments and Mother Fabray seemed like she was gonna be making her kill. However, as soon as it happened, it was over, and Mr. Schuester firmly has Quinn locked within his grasp.

"Santana, go to class… we'll talk about this later" Will got out as he continued to wrangle Quinn, who was now simply breathing in deeply but still staring murderously at the other girl.

"Mr. Schue-" Santana knew enough to know she needed to do damage control. She wasn't regretful of attacking Quinn (the bitch totally deserved it), but she knew she shouldn't have brought the baby into the picture, especially with Mr. Schue there.

"I said we'll talk about it later" He told her firmly, his eyes making very clear how serious he was. "Now you and everyone else, get to class… NOW!" His command sent most of the crowd into action, and Santana made quick work of heading off with Brittany in tow. She only paused for a second to turn around and look at her Glee teacher and her nemesis, just catching the tale-end of them heading into an empty classroom. Normally she would have thought it strange, but she knew those two had a whole crazy deal between them and she figured if anyone knew how crazy a postpartum Quinn Fabray could get, it was him. If he was locking her away from civilization, it must be because the slut was off her rocker.

The sound of a desk being over thrown only confirmed her suspicions, and Santana couldn't help but smirk as she continued to walk away. She might not have gotten in all the hits she wanted to, but she managed to mess Quinn up enough to abate her need for revenge… at least for now.

However, what Santana didn't know was that the desk hadn't been flipped over in rage, and what Mr. Schue was doing to calm the girl down wasn't exactly what she was thinking of either. In fact, had she known what was going down in that classroom she probably would have only gotten more pissed off… after all, it was one of only a handful of rooms in the school where Santana hadn't managed to have sex yet, and she really hated it when people beat her to something like that, especially when that someone was Quinn Fabray.


	6. Interlude: The Heart in the Home

This is a very rough draft that I just had to put out since I haven't done anything in awhile. Quality product will resume next chapter!

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><p>Her phone rang during the break between 3rd and 4th period. Glancing down at the screen, Quinn scrunched her face up in confusion when she read Frannie's name on the screen.<p>

"Hello?"

"Hey Quinnie! What are you doing?" She frowned at her sister's question, hearing the forced cheeriness and the stress and nerves it was supposed to hide.

"I'm in school. Just like I always am on a Tuesday morning."

"School! Yes, that's right, you would be there" Frannie's laughter failed to not come across as uncomfortable, and Quinn began to feel a certain unease growing in her stomach, overwhelming the heartburn and baby kicks that normally dominated her senses. "So look, what do you think about leaving early and doing some shopping? We can pick up a bunch of stuff to make the apartment all yours!"

"But Frannie... that's your apartment, not mine" The hesitation in answer was enough to tell Quinn all she needed to know. She leaned back against the wall of lockers for support, her legs feeling like they might give out at any second. "You talked to Dad, didn't you?" Her voice sounded tiny and scared even to her ears and she caught sight of a few of the Glee kids watching her from across the hall, the noise low enough they could probably make out what she was saying.

"I think this should wait until-"

"I'm not going to get to go home, am I?"

"They're going to transfer custody over to Jack and I next week... I'm so sorry Quinn, I tried as hard as I could" She feels the arms around her before she realizes that she's slumping to the floor, Frannie's voice coming out loudly from the cell. Quinn turns to look at Puck, the one who caught her, and sees a look of sympathy in his eyes that she would have never expected.

"My Dad doesn't want me anymore" She manages to get out before the tears start to fall, not caring that the whole of the hall is looking at her, not knowing that Rachel has run straight to Will's classroom to get him (looking back Rachel will say she isn't sure why she went to him instead of the new guidance counselor or nurse, she just knew he would be the one Quinn would want to see).

"I know the feeling" His commiseration is surprisingly comforting to her, knowing that someone else out there can understand that particular feeling of abandonment that comes when your parents decide they don't care for you anymore. In the moments before Will gets there, when Puck is the one holding her, she finds herself realizing that there is a whole other side to the mohawked teen, a side that, if she wasn't already with someone, she would be intrigued to figure out. Soon enough, though, Will comes running down the hallways, pushing through the crowd of Glee kids that have formed a circle around her and Puck. He crouches down next to her, taking over from Puck and slowly helping her back up (remember as he does so a particularly bad bout of morning sickness he'd helped her through a few days ago).

"Come on, let's get you to my office" She knows he must have gotten a vague understanding of what must have happened from Rachel, but his lack of questions makes Quinn think he knows even more then what the other girl must have told him. The idea that Frannie might have called him enters her mind, and for a moment the idea of her sister and the father of her child communicating over her well-being gives her a funny feeling of warmth. However, that is soon doused by the cold reality of what is going on around her. She feels a chair pushing against the back of her legs and she blinks in surprise when she realizes that she's all the way in his office, Will helping her into a chair and Puck and Rachel standing at the door.

"We got her bags and stuff from the floor and closed up her locker. Do you need us to do anything else?" Quinn glances over at the brunette, throwing her a tentative smile and mouthing _thanks_, the smile that spreads across Rachel's face at the grateful attention reminding Quinn why she lost Finn to the girl. For all her selfishness and diva-tendencies, the other girl had a vulnerability and a softness that she was quicker to show then Quinn. Rachel was more of an easy puzzle for Finn to master, while Quinn required a more knowledgeable hand.

"No, I think I've got it from here. Just tell your teachers I'll send them an e-mail later explaining why you were late a little later" For a second it looks like Rachel wants to stick around, but a hand on her arm from Puck is enough to draw her away and Will closes the door behind them, thankful he's still got the blinds closed from when he had a migraine earlier in the week. He makes his way back over to Quinn's side and kneels down in front of her, getting eye-level with her and cupping the her face with his hands (wiping away the tears as he does so). "I am so sorry Sweetheart" She can hear the emotion backing up in his throat and knowing him as she does, she knows one of the chief emotions he's feeling must be guilt. After all, none of this would have happen if he hadn't gotten her pregnant (or so she was sure he was thinking).

"Parents are supposed to love their children unconditionally" Quinn's eyes were glassed over in such a way that he knew she was drifting, probably going to a place in her mind where it was nothing but negative. He watched as she moved her hand to her belly and started to absentmindedly rub where he guessed their daughter was moving around. "I would never do something like this to her. I already love her more than anything else is this world" Her water-filled eyes darted quickly to look into his. "You wouldn't-"

"She could kill a person and I would still never turn my back on her... and I'll never turn my back on you either" He moved up and placed a kiss on her forehead and then peppered them down the side of her face to finally come to her lips. He lingered there for a moment before moving down and placing a kiss on her stomach, causing a smile to come across Quinn's face. The realization of where they are causes him to pull away, but not before caressing her cheek once more. They both hear the sound of heels clicking harshly against the floor and know Frannie is on her way to them. Will sits back on the edge of his desk, allowing for an appropriate amount of room between them. The knock and opening of the door happen at virtually the same time and before they know it, Frannie is there next to Quinn, hugging her and murmuring reassurances into her hair.

"... I promise, I will be there for you and so will Jack. You can stay at the apartment and we'll get the trust fund Granddad set up for you and we can use it for you and the baby and I promise everything will be ok" Both Will and Quinn can't help but notice that it sounded like Frannie was trying to convince herself as much as she was trying to comfort her sister, but neither of them say anything.

"I'll help out any way I can" Will chimes in, drawing a grateful smile from both of the blondes.

"Will, you are an angel for helping us out like you have already. You are a credit to your profession" It takes everything Will has not to correct her, not to tell her just how wrong she is, how he is the reason for all of this... but he manages and simply smiles at the compliment and carries on the charade.

Hours later the sound of voices coming from the hallway draws him away from his TV and to his front door. Opening it, he catches Frannie and Jack carrying a load of bags while Quinn is opening their apartment door, her face tired but happier then it was earlier in the day. He sees the names _Anthropologie_, _Pottery Barn,_ and _Target_ stamped across the bags and knows that pretty soon the apartment he's become very accustom to in the past few weeks will probably be quite a bit different.

"Need any help?" He calls out, the group turning and smiling at him.

"Will! Bro! How are you man?" Jack was the type of guy who could make a friend out of anyone (a good skill to have when you're in business), and Will can't help but be taken by his charm.

"I'm good! Let me take some of these bags off your hands though"

"Oh don't bother with these, we got them. But if you could head down and get some of the ones out of my car, that would be great" Will blinks at Frannie blankly before looking between the two already almost swallowed whole by bags, and wonders how they could still have more downstairs. Terri at her worst had never come home with that many bags, and she was crazy with a credit card. "What can I say, I want to make sure Quinn has everything to make her comfortable" She looks sheepishly at Quinn, who had paused in her opening of the door to take in the interaction between the three.

"I love everything Frannie. And I love you" The older sister grins, pleased with herself, as she ushers Quinn into the apartment, not catching the longing look the younger girl sends towards Will.

"Car's unlocked Will, just grab whatever you can carry" Jack tells him before he follows the two in, leaving the door open for Will to follow in later.

"Well, I guess I'm in it now" Will mumbles to himself as he closes his door, a satisfied smile coming over his face. Yeah, he was _in it_, and he couldn't be happier to be walking downstairs to carry up what he was sure was an outrageous amount of stuff. All the hard work, all the pain and turmoil was going to be worth it, he was sure.

He didn't spend much time with Jack, Frannie, and Quinn that night. He'd pretty much just finished bringing up the stuff and then bid them good-bye, heading back to his apartment to let them bond. He was somewhat surprised to hear them leave a few hours later, telling Quinn they'd see her that weekend. He'd waited almost thirty minutes before he'd grabbed his keys and slipped out silently, walking over to the other apartment quietly so the neighbors wouldn't hear. He pushed in his key and turned it in the lock, the darkness of the apartment catching him off-guard. He toed off his shoes and weaved his way around the bags that still littered the floor, heading towards the bedroom. He could hear the faint sound of crying, and it broke his heart to know Quinn was suffering.

The bedroom was now pinker then he remembered, and he could only imagine what the stuff from Lowes that he'd carried up and that now laid in a corner of the room would do to the white walls. Quinn heard him enter the room and simply shifted over in the bed, allowing a space for him to curl around her back. The fact she didn't hide her crying made the moment feel incredibly intimate, and he sighed contently when wrapped an arm around her, pulling her against him and placing a kiss against her exposed neck.

"I promise I'll make all of this worth it, baby... I swear it"

"Just love us, that's all I need"


	7. Find a Warmth in the Bitter Cold

It was the sound of the fridge slamming a bit too hard that awoke him. Will blinked blindly for a second, looking over to the clock on his bedside and finding it only 3:35 in the morning (a Saturday morning at that). Reaching behind him, he felt around for Quinn, but instead of finding her all he found were still warm sheets and an indentation in the pillow where her head had rested. Sitting up, he rubbed his eyes before swinging his feet out of bed and then promptly swinging them back in again.

It was _freezing_.

The sound of footsteps heading back towards him were a welcome noise, saving him the trouble of having to try to brave the cold again. He watched as Quinn entered the bedroom, a sleeping Grace held against her shoulder and a hot water bottle in her other hand.

"What's going on?" He managed to croak out, his voice a tad bit more rough then he'd imagined it to be. "It's got to be near freezing in here"

"Heats out" Quinn answered as she walked over to the bed and laid Gracie down on it, Will quick to move the comforter and settle the girl close to his side. "Here, put this between the two of you while I get the heated blanket" She handed him the hot bottle before moving quickly over to the closet, digging around for the much needed item.

"We should go over to your place instead of just getting the blanket out" Will suggested as he situated Grace so she got most of the bottle's warmth, amazed once again at how their daughter could sleep through her parents moving her around so, but come awake like lightning if someone else so much as breathed around her.

"Note under the door said it's out though the entire floor. Won't get fixed till tomorrow" Her voice was muffled by the towels she was pressed against, but he got the gist of it.

"Tomorrow as in today or tomorrow as in Sunday?" Quinn stopped what she was doing and thought for a second before sticking her head out to look at Will.

"You know, that's a really good question" He groaned as he fell back into his pillow, Gracie snuggling in closer to her father in her sleep. "Will?" He could hear a smile in Quinn's voice and felt something hit the foot of the bed. Lifting his head, he caught a glimpse of vibrant color and a horn. "What is that?"

"A Rainbow Unicorn Pillow Pet" He answered as his head hit the pillow once more.

"And why was it hidden behind the comforters?" she asked, still grinning, as she pulled out the heated blanket and shut the closet door. "Do you have a secret you'd like to share with the class?"

"It's supposed to be a Christmas present for Gracie... you saw how much she liked those campaign posters Brittany and Kurt made"

"Mmm-hmm... and the fact they aren't with the other hidden gifts makes so much sense" The weight of the extra blanket added some much needed warmth to Will's life. So needed and so appreciated was it that he almost missed the next thing that dropped at his feet. "Explain that one then"

"Lively Lion?" He asked meekly without so much as a look up.

"Or the lamb, whichever" She added as she plugged in the cord and set the blanket to its medium setting. Getting back under the covers, Quinn folded herself around Grace's other side and placed her arm on Will, wanting to be as close to them and the warmth as possible.

"I thought the lion kind of looked like you... in the morning... when you just woke up and your hair is all messed up " He didn't even have to see her face to know her eyebrow was arched and glaring at him. "I mean it as a compliment"

"How is the fact you think I look like a lion in the morning supposed to be any sort of compliment?"

"You know how much I love the Lion King" He got out weakly, Quinn glaring a second more before smiling, moving her hand up to cup Will's cheek.

"And the lamb?"

"Have you seen my hair?" He got out in the middle of a chuckle, Quinn quick to follow. Even in the dark, when he could hardly make out her face, he thought she was gorgeous. Turning his head, he placed a kiss in her palm before looking back at her. "Plus, you were talking about wanting a pet..."

"I hardly think a pillow qualifies Will"

"It isn't just a pillow Sweetheart, it's a Pillow Pet... totally different" The blank stare he got was enough for him to drop the subject and notice a smaller pair of eyes staring up at him. "Well look who we woke up" His voice softened as he took in his daughter, all blurry eyed and relaxed features.

"We were just talking too much for you, weren't we Baby?" Quinn moved her hand from Will and over to Gracie, running her fingers through her blonde locks in a soothing manner. As long as she was kept pretty sedate, the girl has a remarkable ability to fall back asleep with ease, and considering the time and day, it was a fair assumption that everyone in that bed would like to return to sleep fairly soon.

"Bed"

"That's right Princess, you're in bed" Will put his face closer to her as he asked her lowly "What do you do in bed?" Gracie blinked blankly at him for a minute before turning to look at Quinn, who promptly began to mime sleep. "What's Momma doing Gracie?"

"S'eep"

"Very good Gracie... now, don't you wanna go back to sleep like Momma?" Will gestured to Quinn, although he didn't really need to as Gracie's eyes were still locked on her mother's sleeping face. The girl kept staring for a second before looking over at him with droopy eyes.

"S'eep"

"Yeah Baby, sleep... you know you want some more, don't ya?" The little girl's eyes fluttered a few times before finally stilling. As her breathing evened out and shallowed, Quinn opened her eyes slowly, smiling once she saw Gracie asleep.

"She's just freakin' gorgeous" Quinn whispered, not wanting to wake the toddler up again.

"I know" Will agreed, settling back into his pillow while still watching his two girls. "She's just like you" The comment came without a hint of cheesiness or humor behind it, just a simple statement of what Will considered to be a fact. The lazy smile he receives from Quinn strikes him as remarkably intimate, and he wonders again how he could have ever tried to leave this, to break up this unit that, for better or for worse, is his family.

"You know, if you still want those to be Christmas presents, you're gonna have to move them before you go back to sleep. You know she'll wake up before us" Will groaned at just the idea of leaving the warm cocoon he was now in. He briefly considered asking Quinn if she would do it but a stern look told him that was completely out of the question.

"Screw it, her shrieks of joy can be our alarm clock"

"Great to know your paternal instincts can be easily overwhelmed by the cold. When the snow starts up I'll make sure to find a back up Dad for cold-related emergencies" Will smirked as he turned his head to look across the pillows at Quinn, her eyes closed but her lips turned up.

"Tell Puck _Hello_ for me then"

"Oh, I will" The seriousness in her voice got to him for second, and he's old insecurities immediately started to play in his head, but Quinn's gentle laughter stopped him, and before long he felt her fingers carding through his hair. "Stop worrying and go to sleep Will. You know you're it for me"

It was taking him quite awhile, but he was slowly starting to believe that he really was.


	8. The Survey of the Damage

_Set at the start of Season Three. Grace is about 16 months at this point._

* * *

><p>The pink-haired Quinn Fabray was... wrong... just completely wrong. No one was sure what happened to the girl during the summer (although tales of her joining a lesbian biker gang were rife), but whatever it was, it was drastic. The more thoughtful of the McKinley High student body (read: The New Directions) all quietly wondered if it had something to do with the summer relocation of Will and Grace Schuester to New York City for a stint in CrossRhodes, but no one wanted to voice that aloud. It was a thought that could easily go down the wrong path and remaining ignorant to the tide of Mr. Schue and Quinn's relationship seemed like something they can all agree upon.<p>

When everyone walked into the Choir room for the first Glee meeting of the year, many a jaw fell slack when Shelby Corcoran greeted them instead of Mr. Schue. The explanation that Will's show was running a tad bit longer than expected fell on uninterested ears as Quinn, who had only barely sat down in her chair, stood up abruptly and strides out of the room, her muttered _this is lame bullshit_ seeming to taint the room.

Over the course of the next few weeks Quinn made it a habit to show up irregularly to Glee. It boggled the mind of most as to why Shelby let it happen, but something about both of them having seemingly lost their babies gave them a kinship that most people couldn't understand. As Ms. Corcoran tried to rekindle the broken bond between her and Rachel, Quinn seemed to be flailing, her rebellion seeming to become more permanent and also more painful for her at the same time.

Everything changed on a weird Friday in late September.

It was a strangely cold day in Lima. The sun was completely covered by a layer of dark clouds that poured down rain at random intervals; however, instead of everyone being dreary, the whole of the city seemed to be in a good mood.

Except for Quinn, but that seemed to be expected.

As the final bell rang and everyone drifted off to their afterschool activities, Quinn took her leisurely stroll through the school, deciding if she wanted to attend Glee that day. It was starting to be harder and harder for her to go in there and sit and listen to Shelby and watch her give these longing looks to Rachel.

It was terrifying because she was seriously starting to wonder if that would be her and Grace in years to come.

It also didn't help that every time she sat in those chairs and watched Ms. Corcoran, she was desperately longing for it to be Will instead. Having to sit and watch someone else direct the club was like pressing on a sore.

All she really wanted was her family back, but as the time went by she was starting to think they didn't want her.

As she came up to her locker, the sound of merriment coming from the choir room began to reach her ears. It was a level of excitement that the club hadn't had since Nationals and it intrigued Quinn too much for her not to check it out. Turning the corner to walk into the room, she stopped dead in her tracks. The head of brown curls standing beside Shelby was unexpected, and instead of filling her with relief, the sight seemed to cause her to feel a flood of something else... something not entirely pleasant, like anger and sadness and shock all twisted together with the chill of the day.

Tina noticed her first, the smile on her face becoming unsure. Quickly, everyone else picked up on Tina's stare and soon the whole of the club was looking at her. Everyone sort of thought that with Mr. Schue back and normalcy soon to be restored, Quinn would magically appear as her old self.

Clearly not.

It took a second for Ms. Corcoran and the _returning champion_ (the title Quinn had suddenly bestowed upon him) to turn around. Shelby turned first and her classic sigh at the sight of the girl fell from her lips. Will, a little slower, just stared. His face, which had been filled with excited happiness at seeing his students (well, almost filled, considering his disappointment at not seeing Quinn when he'd walked in), dropped into a shocked frown.

This wasn't what he'd wanted.

This wasn't his Quinn.

This wasn't Gracie's mom.

This wasn't a carefree student released of all her burdens so she could shine.

His mind suddenly flashed to Dayton, the place where everything started, a night where Quinn had played dress up and he'd fallen under her spell.

This time, however, she wasn't casting a spell to pull him under... this time she was casting a spell to push him away.

"Welcome back." Her sarcasm cut like a knife and the entire room suddenly found itself enraptured by the scene that seems like it's about to play out in front of them. For a club full of gossipers and surprisingly catty people, the policy to avoid the Mr. Schue/Quinn situation was an unspoken agreement that everyone was actually quite proud they managed to maintain for as long as they did. However, they all silently agreed that if it were to be shoved in their faces, it would be completely fine if they watched it. "I think you missed the start of school though."

"Quinn-"

"Where is she?" No one needs to ask who _she_ is. Will took a moment to very obviously look Quinn over before he answered the question.

"Grace is with my parents... and by the looks of things that is probably where she is going to be for a while." Quinn's jaw clenched and her nostrils flared as her eyes took on a hardened quality that was borderline murderous in some of their minds. Her entire body seemed to tense and pretty much everyone seemed to expect her to lash out at Will either verbally or even physically. So when she instead simply turned around and stalked off, the unfamiliar voice shouting _Hey!_ as a locker was slammed violently the only noise anyone hears, no one knows what to make of it. Confusion settles throughout the room as everyone discussed what they just saw. Shelby made a move to try to comfort Will but he immediately ducked out of her way, his eyes still focused on the door and his stomach in knots.

It was taking all the strength he had not to run after her, but he knew that not only is this not the place to do it, but that it wouldn't do him any good. A deep uneasiness started to settle in his gut as he considered what he should do about the mother of his child. The fact he can't come up with anything made the situation worse, and ultimately he was stuck trying to figure out where he went wrong: leaving Lima, or ever coming back.

He spent the rest of the rehearsal unsettled. The meeting failed to recapture the excitement and happiness they'd had in those brief moments between when he arrived and Quinn showed up, leaving him disappointed. Shelby tried to lighten the mood by suggesting everyone perform their favorite number from the times they had practiced without him and while it seemed to bolster the mood of everyone else, it only served to remind Will of how long he'd been gone. By the time Mercedes started singing Beyonce's "Best Thing I Never Had" he wanted to hide out in his office and cry. The only joy he could find was the knowledge he'd be able to see Grace soon, but the idea that he wouldn't be able to reunite her with Quinn like he'd planned dampened his mood again. He breathed a sigh of relief when Puck finished "Born to Run", signaling the end to the performances and the practice as a whole.

"Guys, I'm so impressed with all the songs! I think we might even have a couple of contenders for Sectionals in there! We'll talk about it next week though, you all go home and I'll see you Monday." Will didn't have to tell anyone twice and most of the room was quick to leave. He felt more then saw the eyes of Shelby upon him as he watched the last of the group leave the choir room to head home. All during the rehearsal he'd known she'd spent more time watching him than the students, but he couldn't quite figure out what her angle was. Shelby was a frustrating woman on the best of days, her stubbornness and emotions coming together with her determination to create a very shrewd woman. He'd never known her not to have some sort of plan up her sleeve, and ever since he'd asked her to fill in for him he'd been wondering what had been in it for her.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer," he'd joked lamely as he finally turned his head her way, taking in her relaxed posture but sharp eyes.

"For someone who just had the experience of his life, you seem..." she pursed her lips together as she thought, looking him over once more. "You seem defeated." Will chuckled uncomfortably as he leaned back in his chair, looking up at the ceiling as he figured out what to say.

"Have you ever gotten exactly what you wanted, only to find out it wasn't anywhere close to what you expected?" The flash of pain that crossed Shelby's face reminded him that she knew that feeling only too well. "God, I'm sorry, that was stupid of me to-"

"No, it's fine." She waved off his concerns with a flick of her hand, trying to avoid his focus. "You didn't enjoy the show?"

"No, no, I loved the show. Being on a Broadway stage... it was one of the best moments of my life." They both share a smile at the shared experience they both can claim, their respective runs in different shows highlights in their somewhat disappointing lives. "But it wasn't the greatest... it wasn't even what I'm most proud of."

"What is?"

"Grace." The way his face lit up at the mention of his daughter's name provided Shelby with the greatest glimpse of a truly happy Will she'd seen all day. She was envious of the fact he had the relationship she always wanted, not just with Rachel but with the baby she'd thought she might have been able to make hers. "I was putting my wants in front of what was best for her, and when I realized that, I wasn't happy anymore... doing that show became a chore." He took a moment to look around the Choir room, really inspecting it for the first time since his arrival. The familiar walls gave him a sense of comfort and belonging. "Lima has its faults and it certainly isn't as glamorous as New York, but it's my home and more importantly it's Gracie's. I can't keep her from it anymore, I just can't," Will shakes his head as he stands up, feeling a need to move around the room. He was starting to find the topic of the conversation uncomfortable, not liking to talk about his failings with someone who he doesn't really know he can trust.

"Is that what that whole thing with Quinn was about?" He was lucky he had his back to Shelby or else the pain in his eyes would have given away the entire state of affairs to the observant brunette.

"It certainly wasn't what I was expecting."

"You know, I heard about how involved Quinn was in Grace's life, and I have to admit, I was surprised to hear you let her act like she's that baby's mom."

"Well, she is." Will looked at Shelby with confusion, completely unsure of what she was trying to get at and how he was supposed to respond.

"She might have given birth to her and she might help take care of her, but you clearly don't plan on having her raise her. You packing up and taking your family to New York showed that." Will physically winched as he heard the woman's interpretation of events, slowly starting to realize and put together the pieces he'd need to get though to Quinn. "When I gave up Rachel, I felt lost. No matter what I told myself, I'd considered myself a mom for 9 months and when I suddenly didn't have that anymore... I was a mess." Shelby places a comforting hand on Will's shoulder before she continues. "Quinn was a mom and then she wasn't. Once she realizes who she is without that, she'll return to normal and might even be able to see Gracie at that point. Right now though, if you bring that baby anywhere near her, you're gonna be giving her false hope. She's not gonna be that little girl's mom, and she has to realize that."

"I really fucked it up this time, didn't I?" It was a rhetorical question and Shelby knew it. Not bothering to answer, she gave him a gentle rub on the back before starting to walk over to get her stuff ready to leave, knowing she'd done enough for the day.

"What matters now though is that you're making it right."

_No I'm not_, he thinks, _I've made it incredibly worse._

Will didn't say much as Shelby finally made her way out of the room, shouting out something about not beating himself up over everything as she went. He sat in his old seat for just a little while longer before that familiar ache from not seeing Gracie in awhile started to sink in and he had to go get her from his parents. He didn't want to think much about what Quinn must have been feeling without her daughter available to her at all time, but it crept into his mind regardless, and he had to stop himself from walking into traffic at the idea of the pain he put her through.

His parents' house was in no way what he considered his childhood home (that burnt down after a drunken fight between his parents), but his memories there were still pleasant ones. He pulled into the open garage where his dad's car was normally parked let himself into the house with his key. Immediately, he smelled his mom's baked macaroni and cheese and smiled at the thought that she most likely cooked it for him as a treat.

"Hey Mom, is that macaroni I smell?" He called out in way of greeting, unsure of where she or Grace was. As he made his way into the kitchen, he caught sight of his mother dishing out a helping of food on one of her nice plates, and he found himself reminded of the similar scene from months earlier staring Quinn instead. His mind was saved from wandering down that misery-making path when he noticed a clothes hamper sitting on the floor and moving slightly.

"Why yes it is, dear, and I made it just for you as a thank you for letting me watch Gracie today." His mother smiled as she turned around to offer him the plate. Instead of taking it, Will crouched down as he got close to the hamper, his mood quickly elevating the nearer he got.

"Now Mom, did you watch Gracie, or did you wash-" Will stopped in his tracks when Gracie's head suddenly popped out of the hamper, looking around to find where his voice came from. When she caught sight of him, her face lit up and he quickly grabbed her and pulled her out of the mound of clothing, wrapping her up in his arms for a hug which she somehow managed to return. "Well, _hello_ to you too!"

"She's been babbling Dada for the past 20 minutes. I think she can sense when you're on your way to her." His mom placed his plate down on the table before going over and scooping out a non-baked version of the meal onto one of Gracie's plates. Will kissed the toddler's forehead before moving over to her high-chair and dropping her in, only having to deal with a minor amount of fuss that ended when he sat down right next to her.

"You know you can't eat in my lap Grace Marie, you get us too messy." His girl giggled in response before grabbing her Sippy cup and bringing it to her mouth, watching him get situated at the table. He grabbed his fork and started eating, pausing as he stabbed a bunch of noodles to look over at Gracie, who had her own plate in front of her. The latest initiative within the group of her caregivers was to push the use of utensils to eat, but the toddler seemed determined not to use them for eating and instead as projectiles (throwing things was still her preferred way of showing her displeasure, but she also did it for the fun of the reaction from adults). Will watched as she completely ignored the baby fork and spoon his mom had given her and instead used her hands to pick up one of the wagon-wheel shaped noodles she'd been given and bring it to her mouth, still grinning at him as she did so.

"This child insists on making a mess at every meal, doesn't she? We'll have to clean her up good before we let her into that new car of yours." Will smiled as he briefly looked out into the garage at his brand new Volvo. It was a luxury he had never thought he'd be able to afford, but the surprising popularity of April's show had afforded him a decent salary as well as an unexpected and continuing cut of the profits due to a production credit he hadn't known he would be receiving, which allowed him the ability to purchase one of the safest cars he could think of.

"The beauty of leather, though, is that it doesn't stain easily." Will grimaces as he remembers the juice spill of that morning before he dug into his meal, commenting back and forth with his mom and watching Gracie as she got messier and messier. By the time he was finally done, Grace had managed to turn herself and her chair into a masterpiece of cheese-based art, the sort of mess that Will and his mother can't help but just sigh out.

"We really have to get her onboard with the fork."

"I keep trying but getting her to learn something new and sticking to it is usually Quinn's forte." He paused in his movement briefly once the words sank in. It was another reminder of how not having Quinn had hindered Grace in the long run, and the fact he hadn't ever put any real thought into how he would raise Gracie without her mother around.

"That girl is a just a godsend in every way." There were a lot of things he could say to that at the moment, a lot of feelings he could get out and even secrets he could tell, but that was all wrong and not at all how he truly felt.

"She is, isn't she?"

As he cleaned up Gracie and listened to his mother griping about never seeing his father now that he was taking more classes, he considered what it would be like walking into the apartment building knowing that Quinn was just a few walls away (although really, now that he'd seen her, he knew the distance between them was actually much farther). He'd spent the entire summer clinging to the idea that he'd come back to a happy Quinn who was grateful for the sacrifice he made and understood that she was too good to be tied down to a middle-age teacher who was too scared to live out his dreams (he'd argue to everyone that April's show was simply a fluke that only happened because he knew someone and not because of actual talent). The fact she was looking unhappier than ever before was something he wasn't prepared for. The weird surge of anger he'd felt when he saw her had completely thrown him for a loop (was he angry at himself for causing it or at Quinn for not doing what he'd expected?).

He left his parent's with a promise to be there by 10 AM to drop off Gracie so he could spend a few hours at school, catching up on grades and everything else there was to take care of in the relative peace of a high school on a Saturday. The thought of actively returning to teacher mode filled him with both excitement and dread, and he was anxious to go over the stuff Shelby has done. As he put Grace into her car seat, he found his mind wandering over to the topic of Quinn and whether she'd make an appearance at the apartment that night. Now that she knew he was back in town, there really was nothing stopping her, and he knew that only hell fire would be enough to keep her from Grace, but the way she had stomped out without so much as a fight in the choir room still left him uncomfortable.

The fact he and Grace had been back in Lima for two days now and he had avoided Quinn like the plague had made him feel guilty as hell. He knew, as much as he denied it, that part of the reason he'd wasted no time in driving from the airport to the Volvo dealership was so that Quinn wouldn't notice his car in the parking lot. He also knew that he'd only been at the apartment during school hours so as to avoid her as well. Will felt like an ass but he knew he wasn't ready to face her alone - he wouldn't be able to handle all the feelings that seeing her again would bring and still maintain his resolve to not be in love with her anymore.

Or at least act like it.

Because he couldn't ever stop loving Quinn. At least, not really. Not when they had a child between them, and not when he'd invested so much in the relationship they had. You could only maintain a secret like the one they had, only be able to keep up with all the lies and hidden things they said and did, if you truly cared about it.

But the problem with secrets was that over time they could poison you, turn you into something dark. Quinn was too vibrant of a person, too filled with potential to become a victim to a secret. The only problem there seemed to be was that in trying to free her from the burden, he seemed to make her worse.

He stopped the car at a red light and briefly glanced back in the mirror to check on Gracie. The stuffed lamb Quinn had given her ages ago was planted firmly in her lap, her little arms wrapped tightly around it, while she turned her head as she tried to keep track of the lights and reflections of people around her. Will couldn't help but smile at the look of wonder that always seemed to cross her face when she was enraptured by something, and it wasn't the first time that he compared that look to the one Quinn had when she, too, saw something fascinating. As he watched her gawk at the tall, balding man in a pink shirt that passed them (no, it wasn't Sandy, thank the Lord), he wondered for the first time if Grace would actually recognize her mother when she saw her. The fact was that Quinn looked fairly different now then she had for much of Grace's life. The long blonde locks that Grace loved were gone, and that would be enough trauma for the girl. The added pink would certainly throw her for a loop. Add in the piercings and the makeup and it would even be hard for him to spot her in a crowd, let alone a 16 month old baby.

If Grace rejected Quinn, he didn't know what he would do, and he couldn't even begin to imagine how Quinn would react either.

_Nothing about this is going the way I wanted it,_ he fumed, his anger at the universe for not letting his life be simple for once starting to grow. _I was just trying to do the right thing by everyone for the first time in a while... why the hell couldn't it just go the way I wanted?_ The problem with that was that as much as Will might rationally think that ending things with Quinn was best, that she really wanted to be the regular teenager that ran for Prom Queen and flirted between two guys and went out to Color Me Mine on Fridays, the part he was desperate to ignore knew she didn't. Maybe she might have at first, but all Quinn had ever really wanted was a firm place in the world, to love and be loved, to have something to call her own. He knew she found it with Gracie.

He also knew she found it with him.

But he shouldn't have let her, and now he was hell-bent on making the choices that he had failed to make over two years ago. He would not allow them to go back to what they were, he'd demand they establish a new order and come hell or high-water, they'd stick to it.

His new found resolve led him to confidently walk in their apartment building. Grace hugged against his chest and the various bags he'd left at his parents for her were hanging off his shoulder. He wasn't even going to look over at Quinn's door when they passed it, but Gracie had other plans. As soon as she caught sight of the familiar yellow paint, her little body started struggling against his, trying to free herself from his arms so she could head over to where she knew her momma was. A litany of _Mama_ began to fall from her lips, and it took Will a second to be able to cope.

"No Miss Grace, it's too late for that. You need to sleep." The idea it would be too late for her mother seemed not to compute with the child (did he really expect it to?) and instead of calming down, her little feet started to kick and the tears began to form. Will knew they were heading for a meltdown, and he half-expected Quinn to come storming out of her apartment, all pink haired and furious, but nothing happened. Just more wailing on Gracie's part and the sound of shuffling behind Mrs. Weiss' door. Before the older lady could peek out, Will hurried to his door and unlocked it, shuffling into the apartment just in time to avoid an encounter.

He sat Gracie down on the floor gently, expecting her to run off or start to make a scene because she didn't get what she wanted, but instead she simply sat there and looked at him, accusing him of the worst type of cruelty with her eyes. It was the first time he ever felt shamed by his own child, and for a second he considered calling Quinn and making her come over as fast as possible so Gracie could see her. But then he remembered just what version of Quinn they'd be seeing and he realized that maybe not seeing her was the best option. He didn't want her to see that Quinn, he wanted her to maintain that image of the beautiful, long haired girl who smiled like the sun and could own the room the minute she stepped in.

Again, it might break his little girl's heart, but at the end of the day he thought it was worth it.

The fact was, he was pretty good at rationalizing by this point, and he figured he could probably convince himself to believe in any position by now if he tried hard enough.

_Big Foot is real... and so is Santa._

Will laughed for a second at his joke before he began to move around the apartment, grabbing Gracie and settling her into her playpen as he did so. While he'd been away in NYC, he'd rented the apartment out to a company who had a worker in town for the summer. As soon as the guy had left, his parents had gone ahead and returned all the boxes of stuff he's been storing with them and done a fairly good job of restoring the apartment to its original glory. All he found himself having to do was put the stuff in they'd taken with them and figure out where to put all the stuff he'd brought back (mostly new toys for Grace, although he had gotten himself a few things. There was also a bag of stuff he'd purchased for Quinn, but he was choosing to ignore it, just like every other impulse he felt towards her). Realizing he'd never thanked them for setting everything up for him, he quickly pulled out his phone and dialed while he straightened up a few DVDs.

"Did you forget something, dear?" His mother's voice was light, and the smile on his face grew in response.

"Yeah, actually. I forgot to thank you guys for bringing over all the storage boxes and unpacking them for me. Let me tell you, it's made it a lot easier for Grace and I to get settled."

"Will, your dad and I brought those boxes over, but we sure didn't unpack them, that was that sweetheart Quinn." Even though she was still talking, Will had already tuned her out, focusing instead on the fact _Quinn_ had been in there and most likely spent the better part of a day or two fixing up everything for his return. He could picture her floating around, probably deciding to ignore the fact he'd told her they'd be having a serious talk after he returned, and instead thinking about how good it would be for them to be back together again as a family. The fact that his mom called her a sweetheart obviously meant that she hadn't shown up looking like she had at school, and it made him consider for a second just how real the facade was, but that questioning was soon overwhelmed by the notion of the disappointment and sadness Quinn must have felt when she realized he wasn't coming back when he said he would, that she would be separated even longer from her little girl.

He felt like scum of the earth at this point... and it was a decidedly unpleasant feeling.

The phone call died out quickly when he heard his dad come in on the other line, telling his wife to stop talking Will's ear off and come eat with him. The interactions of a couple, although dysfunctional they may be, only served to drive home the loneliness he'd trust upon himself and Quinn, and he threw his phone into the couch cushion in annoyance. The thud was enough to draw the attention of Grace, who abandoned her My Pal Violet and grabbed the side of the playpen to pull herself up and stare at him.

"The road to Hell is paved with good intentions Gracie. And I think that is a lesson no one is going to be able to teach you as well as me." The little girl simply batted her eyes at his bitterness, reaching her hands up to let him know she wanted out. Rolling his head to release the ever-growing tension, he walked across the room and scooped the little girl up. "I just didn't want to trap your Momma in this life Grace... I was just trying to free her." Will smiled as Grace nuzzled her head into his shoulder, her hand coming up to play with the buttons on his shirt. "But I shouldn't have left like I did, I shouldn't have taken you away from her... that just hurt everyone, didn't it?" She didn't answer, of course, just continued to play with his shirt and starting to babble the mix of sounds and words she had learned.

Will spent the rest of the night feeling restless, his mind wrecked by the dilemma of what to do. It seemed clear to him that they couldn't continue on the way they were now, but the nagging conscience he had developed also refused to allow the idea of them returning to where they had been. Starting to slip into sleep, his nose caught the faint scent of vanilla and flowers that was Quinn's favorite perfume. He couldn't stop the smile from crossing his features, remembering a morning when she'd changed the sheets on his bed and then sprayed her pillow lightly with the fragrance, telling him how that was the secret to why her hair always smelled fantastic. Before he thought himself out of it, he quickly turned over and buried his face in the pillow he still considered hers, on the side of the bed he'd had been trying to avoid.

He awoke the next morning in the same position and found himself feeling more rested then he had been in months. His dreams had lacked the normal bite they had taken to having over the summer, and instead he recalled images of a smiling and laughing Quinn dancing around him in a lace dress. He made his way slowly out of bed, not wanting to leave the haven he had seemed to have fallen into, but he could hear Gracie moving around in her crib and knew she needed to be changed and fed. Shuffling down the hallway and opening the door, he smiled at the sight of the girl standing up against the side of the crib.

"DADA!"

"Good morning, Baby Grace." His voice lacked the abundance of energy that Grace had, his body still too relaxed to get to that state, but that didn't stop her from being thrilled by his words, and by the time he picked her up she was practically bouncing. Her excitement continued over to the changing table, where it took him suddenly singing _I'll Make a Man Out of You_ from Mulan to stun her into wonderment. He smiled at the wide-eyed grin she had, and when he finished changing her, he quickly grabbed her and swung her up into the air, causing the giggles to come out again.

Gracie in the morning was always entertaining, trying to turn her food into artwork and get him in on the action. This morning, their first real one back in the apartment, she seemed a little bit perplexed, and it took him a moment to realize she was probably missing Quinn. It was a revelation that hit him so hard it caused him to stop cutting up the fruit he'd been working on and sighed. He looked over his shoulder and took in the sight of Gracie in her high chair, glancing around as if she expected something, or someone, else to be there.

Will started to remember all the different mornings the three of them had shared in this kitchen, songs or the TV sometimes providing a soundtrack. Quinn had always been fond of dancing around to amuse Grace on the mornings she wasn't quite as energized as normal or setting cinnamon rolls to bake so that they could all enjoy a few moments together instead of worrying about food. Those were the mornings where he was so sure that what they were doing was right, and he longed to return to that certainty, but his mind wouldn't let him, not since April had come back. She had brought him not only the chance to live out his dream but the insight to see that as long as things remained the same, Quinn probably wouldn't see hers.

Not that he really thought to consider that her dreams might not be so grand as his.

His realization set him back a few minutes, delaying the time he managed to get both of them ready and over to his parents. The smiles on their faces as they took in Gracie always made him feel this mix of joy and guilt: joy that they got to experience the pleasure of having a grandchild, but guilt they couldn't know the truth behind her parentage. The guilt followed him all the way to school and it made him double down even harder when he started to look over all the assignments Shelby had left for him.

A different teacher hadn't been enough to push them into caring about Spanish; that was for sure.

It took him over an hour just to get through one batch of the freshmen's journal entries, and the fact he had over 3 other batches to look at in that class alone made him groan. As he leaned his head on his hand, his ears caught the thud of someone trudging down the hallway, sounding like they were on a mission. He assumed they were heading for the weekend detention he knew was being held the next hall over, so he didn't pay it much mind. Instead he chose to pull out his phone and bring up the picture he made sure to carry with him everywhere, one of a sleeping Gracie and a gently smiling Quinn holding her against her chest. The photo always had the ability to draw him away from what he was thinking and back to the moment it was taken, one cold Tuesday afternoon in the winter where the snow had been so bad that school had been canceled and they spent the entire day sequestered within the apartment. Will was so caught up in the memories that he failed to pay attention to the grungy figure that entered his office, only snapping back to attention when the voice he'd been missing let out words he never expected to hear.

"You're a son of a bitch, you know that?"

It was the fire in her eyes that caught his attention first. Those eyes that he'd seen filled with passion and love and happiness looked the greenest he'd ever seen them. He gulped under the pressure of her stare, and he found himself unable to respond to her question.

"You've been in town for days now and you didn't even bother to tell me... didn't even think to call me so I could see my baby. What the hell have I ever done to you to make you hate me-"

"I don't hate you Quinn. I could never hate you." He quickly interrupted her, having sense enough to realize he should dispel that insane notion from her head.

"You sure could have fooled me." She stepped up closer to his desk, her pink hair catching the light. It was that glare of pink that finally snapped him out of his daze and got him to take in the entire picture of Quinn looking like some silly imitation of Joan Jett. The anger he'd felt the day before when he'd taken a good look at her started to rise again, and it must have shown on his face. "Oh Will, you never could lie to me very well... you might not hate me, but you sure don't like me right now. I don't know why... isn't this what you told me to be?" She gestured at herself, trying to keep him from looking into her eyes and seeing how much his scorn was hurting her, but he was smart enough to avoid the trap.

"What the hell is going on with you, Quinn?"

"I'm being a normal teenager. I'm rebelling and doing stupid shit like dying my hair and smoking and drinking... just like you wanted." Her cold tone subtly broke at the last part and Will felt like the scum of the Earth again. His words from that night in New York were being thrown back into his face, and they made him almost cringe as if he was physically hit.

"You knew I didn't really want you to do _exactly _that." His response sounded lame even to his own ears and it managed to have the unintended effect of seemingly pissing Quinn off even more.

"No, I didn't, Will. I didn't know anything that night just as much as I don't know anything now." As she started to talk, her voice became more and more frustrated, a feeling he was mirroring as well. "I don't even understand how we got here, how any of this happened... I can't even begin to guess what the hell got into your head and made you ruin the amazing thing we had going on." She looked at him expectantly, as if this was going to be his chance to come clean, as if he was aching to tell her and she was giving him the perfect opportunity. Instead a wall seemed to come up, as if he knew that this could end up going down a road where he'll break the promise he made to himself that he would give up being in love with Quinn so she could be the free spirit he wanted her to be.

"I'm sorry I kept you from Grace." He caught the longing look that took her over for a second at the mention of their daughter's name, "I never intended-" He stopped, closed his eyes and his mouth for a second and took a deep breath, needing to find the right words to say what he wanted without getting too into things. "You can see Grace. You can come over whenever, just like before... but you have to drop this whole act." He sensed she was about to say something, some bit of anger coming back, but he decided to nip that in the bud. "I'm not sure she would recognize you right now looking the way you do... and we both know she'd grab that nose ring in a heartbeat." His funny comment that was meant to soften his previous words failed, and he found no comfort in the stricken look that settled itself on Quinn's face. The notion that Grace wouldn't recognize her seemed to kill her and Will had to stop himself from stepping around the desk and wrapping his arms around her.

"I can be cleaned up in an hour" They both knew that it probably isn't true, but her determination and eagerness to see her daughter had been known to do amazing things, and a complete 180 when it comes to her looks seemed like something she could accomplish. Will smiled and looked at his desk and all the work on it, then back to Quinn. Giving her the option of seeing Gracie had transformed her entire demeanor, a nervous smile now on her face and her leg quaking with energy.

"I was going to be here all day grading-" Her face fell briefly. "But I guess I can take all of this home and grade while you watch her." The smile returned and he was reminded of just how beautiful she was, even when she was hiding behind this mask. "Give me a bit to pack up and go over to my parents to grab her. Then, you can head over"

"I'm sure I'll still be washing this out." Her hand reached up to self-consciously tug at her hair. Will expected that she came into the office braced for some sort of fight, and the lack of one had left her unsettled. Again he had to suppress the urge to move closer to her and still the nervous energy starting to bound around her.

"You know, if it wasn't for everything, I'd say that the pink was actually kind of cute." The words popped out before he could stop them and immediately he stilled in packing, looking wide-eyed at Quinn to see her reaction.

It was exactly what he expected, and not at all what he wanted.

The nervous smile had turned into that coy one, the one that had many a time had gotten him to abandon what he was doing and get caught up in her. It was the smile Will was worried about, the smile that he'd been dying to avoid, and here he was, causing it with his stupid little comments.

This whole _not loving Quinn_ was almost impossible for him.

"I, ummm, I need to call my parents and let them know to get her ready." He cleared his throat nervously as he reached for the phone, avoiding another look at the girl in front of him. If Quinn sensed his discomfort, she didn't say anything, choosing instead to take the hint and head for the door. Before she left, she paused, looking back over her shoulder at Will.

"Make sure you hurry up. I want my baby."

She left without another word, the stomping from before replaced by the graceful stride he was used to watching from behind. Shaking his head, he dialed his parent's number, shoving stacks of papers into his bag as he listened to it ring.

"Hello?"

"Hey Mom, change of plans, I need you to get Gracie ready for me to pick up."

"But Sweetie, she just got here, and she and your father are having so much fun." Will smiled at her protests, enjoying the way people couldn't get enough of his little girl.

"I realize that, and you guys can see her later, but Quinn wants to see her and I-"

"Well gosh Will, why didn't you just say that in the first place?" Will heard the telltale sound of her moving the phone away from her mouth and knew what was going to happen next. "HENRY? GET GRACIE'S STUFF TOGETHER! WILL'S LETTING QUINN WATCH HER." He could hear the sound of his father calling back and soon he heard an entire conversation between them, him being on the phone completely forgotten.

"I swear, they're one step away from dementia." Will muttered as he hung up the line. He zipped up his bag and swung it onto his shoulder, taking a quick look at his office to make sure he got everything before he headed out. As he made his way down the hall towards the side exit, his eyes were briefly caught by the new nameplate next to the guidance office.

_Emma Pillsbury-Howell _

For a brief moment, Will felt a pang of regret. It had only been a couple of years ago that he thought he was madly in love with her and refused to give into those feelings because they'd destroyed his marriage. It had been during his glutton for punishment phase, and he regretted the fact he'd broken Emma's heart in the process. But that whole ordeal had gotten him to something greater (in terms of both benefits and consequences), and with that thought he remembered that he had someplace to be and started back to his car.

The Volvo sat shiny and new across the lot, still an unfamiliar sight for him to see. He wondered what Quinn had thought when she realized he no longer had the old, beat-up hatchback that she barely let him take Gracie in. She'd always been the one to suggest he get a Volvo (glaring at him the one time he'd suggested it had something to do with Twilight, before questioning him how he knew what Edward drove), and he wasn't ashamed to admit that it was her influence that swayed him towards the car (that and he wanted the safest car for his little girl). The only downside of owning a new car was the less than stellar way in which he drove it for the first few days as he got used to the sensitivity of the pedals and wheels. As he drove across town to his parent's, he found a sort of Zen in focusing on the amount of pressure to put on his foot, how subtly he needed to turn the wheel to move the car through the slight bends in the road.

Turning onto his parent's road, he could make out figures running around in the front lawn, one short and one tall. He smiled as he remembered a time when it would have been him his father was chasing, but he found himself more affected by the idea his dad was playing around with his little girl. Pulling into the driveway, he watched as Gracie failed to react to him pulling in like she used to, simply because she wasn't used to the new car yet. However, the moment he stepped out of the car and called out to his dad, her little blonde head swung around to find him, and once she did she started bounding over to him, almost falling over her own feet in order to get to him.

"There's my princess," Will laughed as he bent down to catch Gracie and swing her up into the air, causing her to giggle loudly. The sound of the front door opening and his mother coming out, calling to his dad to help her carry out _the babies' things_ made Will sort of laugh and cringe at the same time. Only his mother would still be calling him her baby at his age. He made quick work of getting everything into the car and settling Grace in, his parents seemingly doing their best to try to prolong them. He wanted to yell at them, tell them to stop being such busybodies and let him go so he could correct one of the biggest mistakes he'd ever made, but clearly that wasn't an option. Almost as if she sensed something was going on and she was being kept from it, the toddler began to start yelling from her car seat, a mix of sounds that Will could recognize as her attempt to say _go home_.

"OK, OK, I'll get you home baby girl, just calm down and let me say bye," Will told her, her little hand immediately coming up and waving at the mere mention of the word _bye. _"That's right, we wave when we're saying bye! Good job Gracie!"

"Oh my God, our grandbaby is a genius!" Will rolled his eyes at his mother's declaration, but the smile on his face betrayed the fact he loved hearing compliments about Grace, no matter who the source was.

When he finally managed to get on the road (after once again promising he'd bring Grace over more regularly and also try to get _that sweet girl_ Quinn to visit too), Will could feel the anxiety begin to build in him. Having to deal with a Quinn that looked nothing like the girl he'd fallen in love with was one thing, but he couldn't imagine how difficult it was going to be having her back in that apartment again, interacting with Grace and probably appearing as if that was where she belonged. Would he be able to resist her?

Grace's very existence seemed to suggest the negative.

Instead of hurrying like he had planned, he began to slow the car down slightly, turning what was more of a speedy cruise into a leisurely stroll. He turned the car radio, setting the volume to low so it wasn't too much for the little girl's sensitive ears. Listening to music was a favorite activity in the Schuester home, and anytime she heard it, the toddler tended to at least move along to it subtly, if not just full on "dance" around. Since traffic was a bit heavy on the highway, he didn't feel like he could chance trying to see what she was doing, but he did listen carefully. Soon enough, he started to hear a rhythmic kicking, and the smile he had lost very quickly came back.

Once he turned onto the road that would get them to their apartment, however, the nerves came back.

"Oh Gracie, what the hell has Daddy gotten us into?" he thought aloud, Gracie acting like an echo as she lightly chanted _Dada_ from the backseat. It was a good thing she didn't catch onto the word _hell_, or else his life would of resembled one if his parents, or worse Quinn, had ever caught her repeating that. For a moment he took the time to picture how Quinn would react, the fire in her eyes as she looked at him and asked him just what he'd been saying to _her_ daughter while they had been gone. Her hands would be on her hips if they weren't busy picking up Grace and holding the girl against her chest as if she was sheltering her from her father's cruel influence. He saw himself stepping up to them, wrapping his arms around them and-

No, he wouldn't think like that. He wouldn't allow himself to go there in his mind because he would be too tempted to go there in person. He wasn't even sure that he really had the strength to resist her as it was, he didn't need his mind playing tricks on him, calling up images of them together when he was trying to keep them apart.

The parking lot of their apartment complex was surprisingly empty for a Saturday, Quinn's Jetta being one of the only cars in front of their building. Will pulled into the space next to her and sighed, turning off his car and staring at the other vehicle. He could remember the day she'd called him from the car lot, asking him what car he thought would be better suited for a baby. It was the first day he'd realized just how invested she was in the baby, even if she probably didn't. That night had been the one where they'd had one of the most honest discussions they'd ever had, laying everything out on the table and getting to the point where they knew they needed to find a way to raise the baby together.

"Out! Out!" The toddler's cries, followed by the thud of something hitting the back of his seat brought him out of the past and back to the present.

"No throwing young lady, no throwing" Will reminded her sternly, the lecture he got on the importance of repetition during his days of Developmental Psych flooding back to him. He turned around with the intention of giving her a stern look, but that impulse died quickly when he took in the furrowed brow and pursed lips of his daughter, her little hands holding a ball that she seemed to be ready to send flying towards his seat. Once she saw he was looking though, she dropped the ball to the floor and held out her arms in an attempt to get him to free her. Grace only enjoyed the car seat when she could feel and see that that car was moving or she had some sort of music to listen to. It was almost as if she knew sitting there was denying her the chance to be exploring or doing something fun, and that idleness was something she couldn't seem to stand.

"Alright, alright, I'm getting out, I'm getting out," Will declared, throwing his hands up in surrender before he unbuckled his seatbelt and opened his car door, grabbing the bag he'd packed for Grace. The rest of the stuff in the car could wait till later to come out, possibly after he was done grading and Quinn was still there. The idea of Quinn not actually staying the night in his apartment seemed wrong to him, but then he reminded himself of protecting her and letting her grow so she could achieve all those dreams she had, and the whole thing felt a bit more right (although it still left a bad taste in his mouth). Opening the door to the backseat, he was met was a round of applause. Ever since he'd made the mistake of letting her watch Baby Einstein videos one week, she'd taken to clapping for the things that pleased her, but only on an irregular basis (although she was fairly consistent in clapping once she got a new diaper after a particularly nasty changing). "Has anyone ever told you how crazy you are, baby girl?" He questioned her, smiling as he moved to release her from her seat. His answer was simply a return of his grin and then a jumble of words that sounded like a mix of English and Spanish.

The elevator ride to their floor seemed to take forever. Grace had wanted to walk the moment they'd stepped foot in the lobby, so Will was having to bend down at a slightly uncomfortable angle so he could hold her hand (not trusting her to be anywhere near an elevator panel after an unfortunate incident that summer). He wondered, as he watched the lights change to indicate that they were on their floor, if Quinn was already changed and simply waiting for them to show up, but then he reminded himself that an hour had only barely passed since he'd seen her and getting pink dye out of hair was probably not the easiest thing to do. As the elevator door opened, Gracie started to toddle forward, Will not resisting for fear of accidently messing up her balance and causing a fall if he didn't. She paused once again at Quinn's door, going up to it and staring at it with wide-eyes. She turned back around to find him, putting her little hand on the door as if to show him she wanted in.

"Don't worry baby, you'll see her in a few minutes, I promise," he answered her, deciding to just swing her up and into his arms so the whole process could go faster. Dealing with the 16-month-old having a fit in a hallway was not how he wanted to spend his weekend, and he also didn't want Quinn to think he hadn't been able to properly control Gracie all summer. She started fussing for a moment before he managed to open up their door and put her down, her attention being drawn by some larger toy she could stand and play with. She made her way over into the area that was once the dining room, but that now housed an area where she could play and be left relatively unattended. With her occupied, it gave Will a chance to continue with unpacking boxes, the task providing him with a much needed distraction.

He spent the next 30 minutes watching the clock just as much as he was watching Grace. He knew this wasn't the behavior he needed to have when he was trying to get over Quinn, but it was hard not to be eager to see her back to normal and with her daughter once more. When the knock on the door came, it was tentative, almost like the person on the other side wouldn't know what the reaction would be. Will paused in what he was doing, looking between the pile of DVDs he was holding, Gracie, and the door for a second before leaving the stack on the counter and starting towards the entrance. He left Gracie where she was, knowing that she'd be fine for a second and not wanting her to see Quinn until he made sure all was right with her.

Not that he thought there would be. Quinn would do nothing to jeopardize her relationship with her daughter.

He took a deep breath and sent out a prayer this would all end well before he finally opened the door, his eyes widening when he took in the sight of a fresh-faced Quinn, all blonde and dressed in white. She looked like what he'd imagined he would come home to, and it was only after a very contested internal struggle that he was able to keep from simply wrapping his arms around her and taking her to the bedroom for a _Welcome Home_ celebration. He made a note of the present she held in her hand, but didn't say anything more about it, considering the Grace's name was written in whimsical script on the card.

"Now this is more like it," he told Quinn as he sent her a reassuring smile, before moving out of the way so she could come in. He closed the door behind her and watching as she stopped in her tracks when she saw Grace with her back to them, playing with her My Pal Violet once more. "Gracie, someone is here to see you," will called out teasingly, the little girl ignoring him as she stood up to put the robotic stuffed dog in her little toy shopping cart.

"Gracie-Grace, wh-" Quinn didn't need to say anything more as Gracie immediately stopped in her tracks and turned around, the toy cart rolling off sadly as it was forgotten. The girl's face lit up excitedly as she saw her mom for the first time in months and she started running towards Quinn, shrieking _Mama_ and reaching out her hands so she could grab the older blonde as soon as she was in reach. Quinn let out a sob as she sunk to the ground, the gift almost flung away as she opened up her arms for Grace to come into. The toddler flung herself forward the second her hands connected with Quinn's chest, her mother's arms encircling her and pulling her close. Quinn buried her face in Grace's curls, sniffing in the smell of baby powder and lavender that was her daughter and feeling tears filling her eyes. Grace nestled into Quinn as she continued to babble a mix of words that were all definitely excited but not all understandable. Will stood back against the wall, watching the scene and didn't even try to hide the few tears that were falling. This image would never escape him. The sight of the reunion between mother and child was both heartbreaking and heartwarming, and he really wasn't sure what to do besides promise to never, ever, cause something like this to happen again.

He leant against the wall for a little while, watching the scene play out. Quinn and Gracie refused to separate from each other, simply shifting around so that they were comfortably on the floor, Grace sitting in Quinn's lap. Will watched as the forgotten gift was picked up and present to the girl, her face lighting up as she looked first at her mom and then over at him.

"Is that for you, Baby Grace?" Will asked her, laying the questioning tone on thick. She giggled before waving her arms at him then hitting the gift, calling out _Dada_ as she did so. Will shared a look with Quinn to make sure it was ok to intrude on the moment, getting a soft smile and a slight gesture for him to join as an answer. He sat down in front of them, watching Quinn help Grace open a card that was all glitter and pretty little birds. He saw the small message inscribed within it, but didn't read it, not wanting to encroach. As much as she might like the pretty note, Grace was well aware of what presents were, and very quickly she lost interest and started to claw at the wrapping paper eagerly. Her parents laughed before they each moved to help her open it, their hands touching before they each stumbled and pulled back. Their eyes locked as they stared at each other for a moment, Will flustered and Quinn desperate. He was the first to look away, looking over at the coffee table as he heard her sigh and return to ripping paper with Grace. He closed his eyes and thought again about how he was doing the right thing, but now it was becoming harder and harder to believe when faced with Quinn.

The high-pitched squeal from his daughter reminded him once again to impart on her the difference in indoor and outdoor voices. With his hands on his ears, he turned back to look at what was being pulled out of the box by Grace and Quinn, immediately seeing the mass of pink and gold fabric Quinn was holding up as Gracie crawled up under it to put it on. He recognized the dress as one for the movie Sleeping Beauty, and he mentally applauded himself for all those years of watching Disney flicks. Still in the box, but definitely not forgotten, was the standard blue and white uniform that made up all Alice in Wonderland costumes, and he could already picture Grace tumbling around it like she really was falling down the rabbit-hole.

"Pwetty Mama, pwetty." Will watched as Grace trudged out of Quinn lap and stood just a few steps away from them, beginning to twirl around and giggle as she waved the wand the costume came with.

"Awww, Princess Gracie, you look adorable." Her mom beamed, looking over at Will briefly as he tried to only focus on the dancing baby, clapping and laughing as she waddled around. If he looked over at Quinn right then, he imagined he'd be doomed. He swore he heard a pained sigh escape from Quinn's direction, but by the time he could bring himself to look her way she was already up and circling around Grace, talking about playing Princesses and going to the park and making a castle. He felt dismissed from the situation, although he knew he really wasn't, and chose to grab his school bag and spread the contents out on the coffee table, allowing him a good view of where the girls were and them the ability to look his way and interact with him without either of them stopping what they were doing completely.

Two hours passed like that, Will grading and listening to the laughter that was pouring out from the two of them, while Gracie and Quinn played a game of Queens and Princesses after spending quite a few minutes searching all the boxes to find every single last doll and stuffed animal to be in their kingdom. It was getting to be mid-afternoon and time for Gracie's snack and nap, but when Will started to head in to take over and settle things down, he found that Quinn already had the child planted in her lap and safely eating some fruit and crackers, a cup of juice sitting next to them. The parents shared a look, one were Quinn was almost challenging him to find fault it what she was doing. The eyebrow arched and Will couldn't help but crumble, heading back into the living room and sitting down, forlornly placing his head in his hands as he tried to figure out how the hell he could maintain this separation.

It was wrong that they fitted together so well.

It was wrong that they had conceived and started to raise a child together.

It was wrong that he wanted her as much as he did.

But just because it was wrong didn't make it untrue, or make it any easier to correct.

Will stared down at one of the Spanish Literature papers, prepared to dive into it in hopes of finding solace from his thoughts. However, he quickly noticed it was a critique of some sort of Argentinean love poems and without much thought he tossed it across the room, satisfied at the sound it made swooshing across the floor.

"Someone worked hard on that, you know." It was the first real thing Quinn had said to him all day. For some reason the fact she was chastising him instead of begging him to take her back left him wanting to burst out laughing. Instead, he simply chose to answer her with only the tiniest hint of a smile.

"I'll just tell him the dog peed on it."

"Everyone knows you don't have a dog... just a baby."

"Well I'll say the baby peed on it then!" The comical gasp that left Quinn's mouth was so close to the old times that he almost forgot his place and went to her, preparing to pull her up and bring their lips together for the first time in ages. Instead he simply chuckled distractedly and dismissively as he returned to grading, not seeing the way Quinn leaned back to catch a glimpse of him.

When Quinn put Gracie down for a nap the little girl insisted they camp out on the floor together instead of separating, clearly not wanting to let her mama go. Will listened from the living room as Quinn shuffled around between the baby's room and the laundry closet, preparing the most comfortable palette to sleep on as possible. He could just imagine what Grace's bedroom floor looked like, and when the coast had been cleared for awhile he snuck into the doorway, seeing the two blondes tucked together on top of a mound of comforters, Quinn's body protectively wrapped around Gracie's so nothing would smother her. He watched as Quinn, still awake, simply laid there and stared at Grace, seemingly trying to engrain the image of her child in her mind forever.

Her eyes slowly shifted until they were burning holes into his. Her face was an unreadable mask, but Will was more than good at being able to read her, and he could tell she was trying to make a point about all of this. She wanted to say that this was how it should always should be, that her and Grace and him were a family.

That was true, yes, but as much as he may have wanted it, the family Quinn was looking for couldn't be. Not now, and probably not ever. If pushing her away now so she could shine would cause them to lose their moment, he'd live with it, unable to be the one to keep her from leaving this town and truly shining.

Once again he was the one that broke the stare, turning away from the room and returning to the couch, sitting down and firmly plopping his head into his hands. The mess that was his life was not one to easily clean up... it was like bamboo. All you did was plant it once and it spread like wildfire all over the place, seemingly unstoppable and uncontrollable. There was a vague metaphor for conceiving and having a child in there, but he ignored it to focus on other things.

The ticking of the clock suddenly bothered him greatly. It was like it was taunting him in some weird way that he couldn't articulate but just _knew_. He found himself staring at it for awhile, ironically losing track of time completely. When heard the scampering around from the nursery he shook himself out of his daze and quickly started back to work, listening to Quinn telling Gracie they were going out to the park and make a castle on the playground. The toddler could be heard clapping and jumping around, clearly excited, and Will couldn't the smile that crossed his face as well. His daughter's enthusiasm and good attitude were the traits he thanked the Lord for every day, knowing how bad he could have gotten it. The way she jumped at this was adorable and promising for her future, making Will think he just might not be so bad of a dad considering the kid he was working with.

A mass of blue and white suddenly collided with his leg and looking down he was immediately met with the upturned face of Grace smiling at him wildly.

"Dada park!" She insisted as she hugged him, Quinn coming up behind her,

"I can't come with you Princess, I gotta stay here." The girl looked at him blankly, clearly not fully sure what he said. He began to shake his head _no_ and she immediately got the message, her face turning from a smile to a frown. "Don't be mad Gracie, that just means you and Mama get to go and play Gracie in Wonderland for the rest of the day!" His words brought a measure of happiness to her, but there was still a slight frown there. Grace turned to look at him over her shoulder as Quinn held her hand and started leading her towards the front door, her eyes seemingly pleading with him to come with. They could get away with being out with her in public, they always had, but for some reason he felt too much of a fear within him to try to do that now. He could only smile half-heartedly back and blow a kiss her way, missing the look Quinn was sending him.

Her stroller was new, an NYC purchase that Quinn had actually wanted for quite awhile but he hadn't been in the position to get. He expected a bit of a fuss as she tried to get used to it, but all Will heard was the regular sounds of preparing to take a toddler out to the park. Again, the idea that Quinn was so suited to this struck him, and again he field it away into the deep recesses of his mind.

"We'll be back later. I'll probably take her for something to eat and bring you something back."

"You don't have to do that, Quinn." He wanted to say she _shouldn't_ do that, but that would not only be too rude, but also too instigating. It was the type of phrase that might set the tempestuous line they were walking at the moment on fire, and he wasn't prepared for that, not by a long shot.

"It's fine. I'm sure all the stuff I put in the kitchen when I thought you were coming back has probably spoiled, so you're gonna need me to bring something back. Pasta Primavera from Angelo's good? They've all been dying to see Gracie so I thought- Grace don't put that in your mouth- I thought I'd take her there." There was the guilt again, this time brought on thick by the fact all the spoiled food he'd noticed and thrown out had not been from his parents, but once again from Quinn. Why had she done so much for him when he'd done so little for her? Why did she still want to care for him when he'd made it seem like they were over. Had she just been ignoring what he said, or had she been hoping that if she acted sweet and caring, he'd forget all that was said before? Regardless, this wasn't something he needed to be thinking out right now.

"Yeah, sure, sounds good. Tell them I said _Hi_." Quinn called out that she would and soon a chorus of byes were let out as the twosome left the apartment, leaving Will alone with his thoughts. The beers in the fridge called to him, his body demanding something to release some of the tension he was feeling. Unable to fight it, he walked to the fridge and grabbed a bottle, gulping at it as soon as it was open. It tasted bitter and wrong in his mouth though and he promptly poured the rest of it out. He dropped the bottle into the recycling with a thud, staring at it for a second as if it had betrayed him.

The bottle of Johnnie Walker Black Label, the same brand he'd had that night in Dayton, was suddenly calling to him, and he couldn't resist taking down a glass and filling it with some. He sniffed it before he took a sip, sighing as the liquid hit the back of his throat with a burn. It felt like punishment of sorts, and not the relief it normally did. He leant against the counter and drank the entire thing, wanting to refill it afterwards but the voices of his better angels kept him from doing it. Alcohol got him here, it wouldn't take him anywhere else.

The hours between when the girls left and when they returned seemed long, filled with the tenuous task of grading. He'd never realized how used to hearing them in the background he'd become in the time since Gracie had been born, and it again showed Will just how dependant on Quinn he'd become. As unfair as part of him thought that to be, there was another part that enjoyed it, loved it even. He'd never felt that sort of need with Terri, that draw to be in her presence and pain when he couldn't. It satisfied his need for love and his need to be wanted, as it was just as clear to him that Quinn felt the same way.

But even with that revelation, he still felt he should remain set in keeping them from being the couple they once were.

It was around 8:30 when he heard the key in the lock and the front door open. He was lounging on the couch at that point, an episode of Law and Order playing but his mind not really processing it. Will was still caught up in his internal debate, only coming out if it when Quinn came into view, a soft smile on her face as she carried a sleeping Grace against her shoulder. It was the type of look that always made Will want to call her the most beautiful girl in the world, and for a second the words almost came spilling out, but he stopped himself, although his face easily betrayed him.

"She's out like a light" Quinn whispered, kissing the blonde curls on her daughter's head and staring at her in wonderment. "She made it all the way through dinner before crashing in the car... everyone loved seeing her."

"How could they not? She's amazing" Two sets of green eyes met and neither could ignore that something was there, even if one pair really wanted to. Neither wanted to look away, but eventually Quinn did, saying something about needing to put Gracie into her crib. Will watched her go with a forlorn expression, the idea he'd need to deny her what he was sure she was looking for hitting him like a truck.

The flash of silver sitting on the dining room table caught his attention, and in order to avoid the oncoming storm that would be the conversation he and Quinn were going to have, he began to prepare his food. He had just sat down at the breakfast nook to eat when Quinn came in, going straight for the cabinet and getting herself a glass for water. Will watched her moving around like she owned the place, the food settling in his stomach with all the comfort of a rock. As she started to sip from her drink, she turned back around and gazed at him, her expression tight.

"Are we going to talk about this?"

"What's there to talk about?" Will asked around a bite of food, Quinn dropping her glass on the counter and crossing her arms over her chest.

"Oh, I don't know... maybe the fact one day you're making love to me and the next you're moving as far away from me as you can and taking our daughter with you. Or how about how you kept me completely in the dark for months about how either of you were. Oh, and here's a good one, why exactly you can't even look me in the eye anymore." His eyes were wide as he stared at her, gulping his food down as he tried to find the words to say.

"Quinn- I don't know what to say..."

"Tell me you love me. Tell me that you're sorry and that we can be what we used to be... you, me, and Gracie, one happy little family." She's begging him at this point, pleading even. He wants to do as she says, so much, but there is something stopping him, that little voice inside his head that just won't let him be. This whole situation is his fault, not just because of his time away and his misguided ideas about what Quinn needed in her life, but because he made a stupid choice and took advantage of a teenager.

"GOD DAMN IT WILL, STOP THINKING ABOUT THAT." Her frustrated yell threw him off his train of thought and he stared at her blankly, not sure how she would have known what he was thinking. "Dayton is OVER. It's DONE. You can't change what happened and you can't keep punishing me for causing it!"

"Punishing you?" Will felt tears start pooling in his eyes as he took in the now vulnerable girl in front of him, her eyes equally as wet and infinitely more defeated. She seemed to be unable to keep herself standing tall at this point and she turned around, both hands braced against the counter and her eyes looking at the cabinet doors.

"Isn't that why you left and took Gracie with you? I know you wanted your chance to be a star, and I never would have stopped you, but... you didn't have to take her with you. It would have been easier for you to leave her here or take me with you... but you didn't... and I figured you did it because you wanted me to hur-"

"No, no, no, listen to me Quinn, that wasn't it at all." Will jumped up from behind the table and bounded over to her. He grabbed her by the shoulders so he could turn her so they are looking square in the eye. It was the first time in months they'd touched, let alone been that close to one another, and immediately the feelings he'd been trying to fight start coming alive as he got his hands on her warm skin. "I NEVER want to hurt you. Do you understand that? It's the last thing I want to do and every day I beat myself up because I feel like what I did that night hurt you in so many ways..." He started to have trouble speaking over the lump in his throat, and he took a minute to compose himself, swallowing hard and trying to push out the last bit. "I love you Quinn, I love you so much and I love our daughter and everything we have between us... but I hate myself for it every day because I shouldn't- because I shouldn't have let any of this happen and I shouldn't be happy that it did... I didn't take Gracie to hurt you, I took Gracie because I wanted to save you and let you have the opportunities I took away from you that you wanted before."

When he finally started to cry, he made no move to try to stall the tears or wipe them away, and Quinn didn't either.

"I don't want those opportunities anymore, Will." Quinn moved her hand up onto his check, her attempt at getting his attention and keeping it. She started to brush away his tears with her thumb, but found the effort to be futile and instead focused on trying to prove to him just how true what she is about to say is. "I just want Gracie... and I just want you... God, I wanted you so much that night and I want you even more now. .. you didn't do anything to me that I didn't want, and I don't regret anything that happened then or now." She slowly raised her face up, stalling just before she was about to press her lips to his. They shared a look filled with so many different things, and both were looking for something to tell them what to do.

For Quinn, it was a flicker, a moment of Will's resolve slipping.

For Will, it was that steely determination that only came out when Quinn was certain and her mind was set beyond any shadow of a doubt.

All at once, they both see what they want.

This kiss wasn't like anything else they've ever shared before. It was all about coming home and cementing that this was where they wanted to be. Months of pent up longing poured out of them, as well as residual anger on her end and a need to atone for everything that happened on his. She slowly brought her hands up and under his shirt, sighing contently at feeling him once more. It didn't take long for Will to throw all his doubts aside and swing her up into his arms, carrying her into the bedroom that he realized that he just wasn't able to not share with her. In some ways he felt like a failure, and maybe he was, but he was happy, and so was she.

That should be what really matters, right?

Hours later, after they'd fully reacquainted themselves, Quinn found herself lying sated in the bed, her head resting against Will's chest and his heartbeat thumping reassuringly under her ears. Will idly played with the ends of her hair, every once and awhile pressing a kiss into her hair. She thought about all the plans she'd made that summer, all the fantasies she had for them and she wondered if this would be a good time to broach them. She'd always pictured this conversation happening after a night together, their connection at its peak, and considering all the issues that had kept them apart over the summer, Quinn thought this would be something that he'd do well to hear.

"We aren't damned to stay here, you realize that, right?" Will let out a questioning noise in response, urging her to continue. "McKinley isn't the only school that will have you and you deserve to be at a school that loves and supports the arts." She popped up off his chest and turned to lean over him, looking down at him with a spark in her eyes. "There are all these amazing performing arts high schools around the country and so many of them have great colleges near them... you could teach at one and I could get my degree there..." She ran her fingers through his hair as she smiled down at him. "Wouldn't that be nice?"

"Yeah, it would," he answered softly, more awed by the way the idea is bringing Quinn so much joy. "But how many of those would actually be hirin-"

"I have a list of schools with openings and colleges around them I'd want to go to." His eyebrows raised in surprise, thrown off by the Rachel-esque planning move she'd admitted to. He laughed though, and reached up and pulled her down for a kiss. He flipped them over so now he was the one looming over her, breaking away to pepper kisses along the side of her neck before he looked in her eyes. He could tell she thought that they are finally going the right direction, moving towards a good future for the three of them that will end with all of them happy. What surprised him is that as much as there might be doubts in his mind, Will could actually see the potential in her idea, and he sort of loved it.

"I think I should take a look at that list."

"Why don't we look at it together?" Will tilted his head to the side, smiling down at the equally smiling Quinn. They realized the significance of what they were considering. Two people looking at a list might not seem like a lot, but when that list wraps up your future fairly neatly, it becomes something more. He pondered her question for a second before moving back down for a kiss, whispering the word _sure_ right before they touched.


End file.
